Uganda (Dispatch 1)

Uganda - Good Shepherd's Fold

I wish I could put into words all that the Lord has been teaching me over this past month. His instruction and conviction and tenderness in seeing me fall short, make mistakes, and unlearn and learn things has shown me the gentleness with which Jesus sees me. Jesus sees you and isn’t reluctant to embrace you. He delights in showing mercy and is moved to compassion even when we feel like we’ve messed up too much. It is one of His greatest joys and who He is. It’s within our weakness and suffering that Jesus comforts us and is our strength in time of need. In Christ, our suffering produces a dependence on God that we otherwise might not learn.

Serving the Lord here is no different than the call every day for someone who claims to follow Jesus. It is loving God and loving my neighbor and being faithful to share who Jesus is. My humanity wants to portray some means of “ministry success” and provide a number to measure what God is doing, but so much of what I’ve seen the Lord do has been slow and has been a matter of the heart- things that aren’t seen and cannot be summarized through words on paper or a social media post. Life on life discipleship and the conversation-by-conversation building of relationships is some of what I’ve witnessed here & it feels slow. Slow is not bad. I’ve been conditioned to believe that & unlearning this has been an important part of my experience here. Most times, God’s timing is not our own and thank goodness. He often wants to teach us something in the waiting. What I might perceive as “slow” comes often from a lack of understanding that God is indeed working all things together in a much bigger way than I can imagine.

Two months here is not nearly enough time if I’m being honest, but I do know that God is teaching me more and more about Himself and how to truly love the people that God places in front of me. It is surely not met without frustration on my end because I often feel like I am not patient enough or gentle enough or available enough. But thankfully, the grace of God is sufficient for me and His power is made perfect in my weakness. I don’t have to be enough because Jesus already is and He is my strength. My life is hidden in Him. I fall short in countless moments throughout the day, but Jesus is patiently waiting for me to come to Him for refuge each and every time I fail. He is enough.

All of this to say that I feel as though God has been doing a lot in my heart and has been answering my prayer to break my heart for what breaks His. All of the glory to God.

- Summer Broadbridge