Here Am I

I wrote this a while back, but it seems appropriate for life right now... it's just been coming up in conversation, so I thought I would post it. Hope you like it!

When was the last time you daydreamed about unicorns or being a rock star or winning the Olympic gold medal? When was the last time you were asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? Imagination. It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it? As kids, we could do anything we set our minds to. We could play with dolls and pretend about our futures as mommies, doctors, lawyers, or even the first female President of the United States. We could do anything we wanted in our imaginations. But as we got older, that innocence is lost somewhere along the way. Somewhere down the line, we forget about the big dreams. Even in our spiritual walks, we lose that innocence. When I get to teach fourth grade girls on Sunday mornings, I find myself standing in awe of their love for life, their spirit. They don’t let the hard things in life get them down. And, believe me, the trials really start early. Then I look at myself and wonder why I let so many things like college applications and stressful weeks take over my spirit and eat away at my joy. This past Sunday, our fourth grade girls’ class challenged my girls to encourage the adults around them to be strong and courageous in the Lord, and to use their imaginations. I believe I learned so much more from them than they did from me. In our youth group meeting later that day, the basics of the Bible were taught. Since our God is ultimately powerful over everything and can do whatever He wants, and since He loves us more than anything, then naturally He wants the best for us. So, why do we worry so much about the little stuff? What theologians call “child-like faith‿ is exactly what we need to learn once again! Having the simple faith that this amazing God loves us, no matter what, is enough to conquer our fears. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t doubt sometimes, because we all do. But that the Lord God Almighty is with us, so whom shall we fear? So, like Joshua, let us be strong and courageous, neither afraid nor discouraged (Joshua 1:9). Let’s use our imaginations to imagine the greatest thing God could use us to do in this world, and then let Him do His will for His glory. We are all like Isaiah in Isaiah 6. He was at the very throne of God, and was cleansed out of love. Seeing our Lord’s glory before his own eyes, he knew that God is everything and can do anything. So, let’s be like him and shout to the Lord, “Here am I! Send me!," because we know and believe in our hearts that He will use His beloved children to do His wonderful work-- the young, the old, the girls and the women. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example in life, love, faith, and purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). We weren’t given a teenage Holy Spirit, let us use our imaginations and see what God sees because “all things are possible through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).