In Spirit and in Truth

Hello All,

I realize that I haven't updated in a while and haven't said a word about how Honduras was. (It was truly wonderful and so needed as always.) To be honest, I didn't journal much while I was there, so whether or not I catch you up on the happenings hangs in the balance right now.

I'm back at school and took Praxis II (a standardized test I need to be certified in West Virginia) this past weekend. Tomorrow is my first day of student teaching (provided that the weather doesn't adjust that). Both of my placement teachers seem like wonderful people and quite willing to let me jump in and be a part and eventually be in charge of their classrooms. I am thrilled and also rather intimidated. While they keep pep talking us about how the children aren't going to eat us, it's never the children that make me nervous--it's the fact that I feel so unqualified. I have reached a place in my life where the more I look at the world and even the things that bother me within the world, the more I realize that I have no answers. And the more I grasp my deep need to maintain humbled, on my knees before the Lord. Thus, student teaching is another opportunity to honor God and to be a vessel of His love. I am humbled that He has given me this privilege and further amazed that this is my last semester before graduating.

One small lesson that popped up in Honduras was the idea of what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth. A lot of translations refer to "truth" in that scripture as "reality." What does it mean to worship God in reality? I think for me it means choosing His reality over our own, choosing to see with His kingdom eyes even the circumstances before us, and putting the glory of His kingdom before all else, especially ourselves. I'm not always sure what that looks like in practical terms, but I am assured that the love of God is folly. Thus, I can't imagine what having the faith to live in God's reality must look like to the outside world. I would venture fairly foolish yet infinitely worth it.

If you think about it, take a moment to ask God what worshiping Him in spirit and in truth means for you personally. The answers may surprise you.

With love,
Sarah