Thanksgiving

When I was flying to Dublin, 30,000 feet in the air, and far above the North Atlantic Ocean, I caught a beautiful glimpse of the sun setting into an endless field of clouds. During that moment, impressed by the beauty of it all, I was whispering continual thanks to God. Thanking Him for bringing me this far on the trip, thanks for what He has done and what He has yet to do, and thanks for His goodness and grace.

Now that I am beginning my fourth week here in Dublin, I had caught myself wondering if I was still offering whispers of prayer to God thanking Him for what He is accomplishing here. It is easy to become complacent with praise when things seem routine or the luster of their novelty has worn off, but I am realizing that God is still good, still at work, and still guiding me along whether I recognize it or not. I really noticed this point over this past weekend when the Lord placed several things in my path, literally.

One situation, on Thursday night, was my encounter with Eddie, a homeless man. He had fallen and cut his head pretty badly that night and was sitting helpless on the sidewalk as we walked by. Some of us on the team were able to stop, help him stand up, clean the blood off of his face, and walk him to where he needed to go. We had a long conversation with Eddie as he hobbled down the streets. He told us where he was from, why he was on the street, and he had the occasional wild story to tell as well. While we were walking with him, I kept wondering if it was a wise decision to do this – I knew that helping random people on the street at night was not particularly safe. I didn’t feel at ease until he started stalling us from leaving right before we said our goodbyes – I realized at that moment what Eddie wanted was not so much our help but our company. I think that he is a very lonely man, and the tiniest bit of sacrifice and compassion that we showed him was a warm blanket wrapped around a man who has experienced long nights in cold and solitude. I thank the Lord for putting him in my path.

Another situation occurred after church this past Sunday. While I was talking to people after service, I noticed a younger man that I hadn’t met yet. I walked over to him and introduced myself. He told me his name John, and instantly I could sense that something was bothering him. I sat down in the pew in front of him and I began to have a conversation with him hoping to get at what was noticeably troubling him. Quickly, John began telling me about the struggles he is having in believing that God truly loves him. He opened up about his past, his attempts at suicide, his struggles with the Christian faith – all the while my heart was wrenching to hear this. I prayed, while listening to him, that the Lord would impress something upon me to say to him. All I could encourage him with is the fact that God is full of love, quick to mercy, and restores our hope. I left him with those words and the promise that I would pray for him – I’m trying to stay in contact with him too. I’m thankful that God allowed me to spot him at the end of service.

On my flight over, I was giving thanks for what was easy to see and was effortless to enjoy. Now I’ve noticed that God has orchestrated things so that people who are in need have come along my path at times when I hadn’t expected it. These people are the answers to my prayers – my prayers petitioning for the Lord to use me to reach people. I’ve realized that it has taken less of my reach and more of His hand to answer those prayers, and for that I am so grateful. I’ve moved from whispers of thanks to shouts of great joy. Thank you Lord!!

These are just two of the many things that God has been doing here. This past weekend I also attended a Christian conference led by Marva Dawn, a theologian who has written several books on worship. She raised some interesting points on the importance of community and being mindful of the poor. On Sunday our team was able to lead the congregation in three worship songs – the last two Sundays we had only done one song. Today I went to Lindy Road Primary School, it’s the grade school that Abbey has founded, and I was able to help Alan with a quick talk at their final assembly before summer holiday. Much more is happening, and we are preparing for much more to come.

I leave you with the chorus to Falling Slowly from the movie Once. Once won an academy award this past year for best original song, and it was filmed here in Dublin. In fact several of the scenes were shot half a block away from where I’m staying. We watched the film as a team several weeks ago. The words to the chorus apply well to our continuing work here:

Take this sinking boat

And point it home

We’ve still got time

Raise your hopeful voice

You had a choice

You’ve made it now

Lord we come to You as broken vessels and realize that we have no guide, no hope, and no god like You. We ask that you still lead us in our remaining time here in Dublin and at Abbey. Our choice is to serve you, we have made it now. Continue with us on this journey. Thank you so much. Amen

Luke