Kingdom

Have you ever noticed that sometimes the things that require the most emotional energy from you can end up being the very things that bring you life and the most fulfillment? 

This past month I’ve been very involved with our Kenya Real Life team. It’s a 3 month team made up of 22 young adults and their leaders who are daily engaging in ministry and experiencing the Lord working in their midst. 

These 24 individuals are discovering what it means to live in community.  It’s not always easy or pretty. Spending 24 hours a day with 23 other individuals in a foreign land, in close quarters, and constantly pouring your heart out into the ministries the Lord has placed you in…that will drain you! Coming face to face with your personal brokenness and hurt as you invest in broken people…it’s tough. These are things that every team goes through.  However, at some point during this process, this group of 24 individuals and strangers, become family. They become a team. They start to carry each others burdens, hold each other up through the hard times, speak truth and life into each other, trust each other and the Lord, allow love to conquer all, and thrive as a community of believers doing life together. At this point, the messyness of community becomes beautiful!

Over the past few weeks I have been in daily contact with our Kenya leaders. They’ve had a lot on their shoulders. In addition to the typical growing pains mentioned above, several on this team have struggled with their health. All of this puts a strain on the leaders. They’re daily walking out this experiece with their team all the while growing more and more dependent on the Father because they simply cannot do it in their own strength. 

A few of us here at AIM have found ourselves in a shepherding and coaching role for this team and their leaders.   It’s what we love to do. Encourage the leaders, listen, process and pray with them, offer advice and insight into situations, and simply be a lifeline to them. Sometimes we don’t have the right words or the solutions. Sometimes all we can do is laugh with them because it’s what keeps us sane. It’s not that we have it figured out by any means, but we’ve been there. We’ve walked the road they’re walking with their team. We have stories of struggle, hardship, and ultimately victory as we reflect on our times leading teams. And it’s a joy to be in a place where God uses those experiences. 

I’m proud of our leaders. Throughout this whole process they’ve been teachable, humble, and wise. They’re stepping into the role the Lord has placed them in. It takes courage, it takes boldness, it takes humility, it takes a sense of humor not to take yourself too seriously, it takes a heart that is constantly seeking the Father. 

I absolutely love being able to pour into them. Matter of fact, its one of my favorite things I do. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t draining…somedays it’s absolutely exhausting. But back to my first statement…sometimes the very things that require the most emotional energy from you can end up being the things that bring the most life and fulfillment. How interesting is that?! Perhaps it’s the way God intended it. Because in the situations that drain everything from us, we are stripped away from ourselves and our own strength. This results in our depenency upon God growing by leaps and bounds. And that’s how he created us…to be dependent on Him.    

Through this past month, through the physical, emotional, and spiritually exhausting times, the Lord has given me a glimpse of what the Kingdom looks like in my life today. Walking down this path He’s called me to, operating in the gifts He’s given me, coming to the end of myself and depending on Him, and ultimately falling more in love with Him…that’s the Kingdom…or at least a fraction of what I’ve been able to experience of it.   

What does the Kingdom look like in your life today?