A Rainbow Kind of Day
Winter months in Ireland can be hard for me with a bit of seasonal depression but yesterday the sun was out as I walked to church.
When the service ended after church, as I was waiting for the people next to me to exit the aisles, I leaned over to a lady next to me that I hadn’t met and said, “how are you.” Then this lady looked at me with tears in her eyes. I thought to myself, “oh, no, I’ve caught her in a vulnerable position and I don’t want to embarrass her.” She responded telling me about how she liked the sermon and knew she needed prayer. Then asked if I was American. I told her I was and that I worked for an organization called World Harvest Mission and the tears just streamed down her face. “World Harvest!” she said. “I used to know Jack and Rosemary Miller. They were incredible people.” And in that moment I knew I was entering into sacred space in her heart, and that I was able to be part of it because of this man who I greatly admire but never met, the man who founded WHM. And then I had the privilege to pray for her.
I think it’s interesting when I was talking about the 3D dimension of this blog including the people who have gone before us, I would never have imagined a conversation like this. So thanks, for going before us Jack and Rosemary.
This lady told me that because I sat next to her, she was reminded of a verse that Jack had given her that had really changed her life. “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7). And that verse spoke to me where I am in my life right now.
When I left church to get on the bus to head into city centre, I said to myself as the clouds gathered, “this is a rainbow kind of day.” That’s one of the beauties of living in Ireland. In the spring particularly, there are multiple rainbow sightings (so far no leprechauns!) But every time I see one, the magnificence is nothing less than the last time I saw a rainbow. And as I’m led into worship, I remember God’s covenant with Noah when he said “never again will I destroy the earth.”
So for the next 30 minutes on the bus I took intentional glances up from the pages of “The Reason For God” to search for the rainbow. And then, there it was over the sea touching the lighthouse at Howth Head. I looked around the bus to see if anyone else was marveling at the rainbow. I almost tapped the woman with the child in front of me to point it out to them. Look! This rainbow holds much promise and hope for me, and I want others to be amazed at it too.
Seeing this rainbow on this day was a reminder of God’s love throughout the history of the world. That what he promised to Noah has continued to me, that because I am his daughter, I am grafted into his covenantal love. And I am part of a big family.
So I praise God for his creative ways of telling me he knows and loves me, how he loves the people that we work with, and how he wants to spread this good news to everyone, as evidenced by a rainbow in the sky!
Becca Giles is from Charlottesville, VA and graduated from UVA ‘06. She participated in the summer internship ‘05-06 and moved to Ireland in May 2007 and is finishing her second year of the apprenticeship, through August 2009.
Coffee Talk: A Day in the Life
I listened to a woman from Mars Hill Church in Seattle doing a message on “Soul Talk v. Self Talk” the other day. I was really convicted this week that often when I’m having coffee dates with my friends, hitting the range of discipling scenarios: formal, informal, group or just a catch up, I love to steer the conversation back to me. There’s the strategy, “oh yeah, I know what you feel. That happened to me when…” which is much more obvious. But then there are the more subtle ways that I like to draw the attention away from myself and then become a hero to the friend. ‘Let me fix you’ my words suggest. I learned a long time ago to veer from advice-giving, and lean into question-asking as a technique to really hear the other person. But then, I quickly go in my head analyzing the situation…what wounds does she have as a child, which actually distracts me from my friend rather than actually loving him/her. And when I ask the question, ‘am I blessing this person?’ I can walk away believing ‘yes’ but I’m getting more and more convinced that the answer is frequently ‘no’. I am putting myself as the answer to all their problems rather than Jesus!
This week I have had two really good conversations where I KNOW the Spirit was directing me. I prayed for my friends as I heard them talk, asking God what would YOU have me say to this person? How can I demonstrate your love for my friend and help recenter both of our lives on YOU, rather that what I can do for the person. One of the jewels of wisdom in the talk I listened to, and also one I have heard at different points of my apprenticeship year is this: ‘what would it look like for this person to be completely wrapped up and in love with Jesus alone?’ and that means that we have to have our imaginations increased. What would a fully redeemed, passionate and free woman look like in the person of ___? (because we are all created differently, which is another reason to believe that person x may not be designed exactly me!)
And that of course leads me to the question- what would MY life look life if I was totally resting in Jesus’s love? If I saw Him alone as the source of identity and Truth? One answer is that I wouldn’t need other people to think, wow, Rebecca is such a great friend. And I would long for others to be caught up in the good news of Jesus and his resurrection which invites us into full life!! It’s a much bigger story than the one my life and my conversations seem to be telling at present. And that one is much more beautiful and exciting.
And it’s all part of my job- I think I have the best job in the world!!
Becca Giles is from Charlottesville, VA and graduated from UVA ‘06. She participated in the summer internship ‘05-06 and moved to Ireland in May 2007 and is finishing her second year of the apprenticeship, through August 2009.
