Working With God

So this summer I have the amazing gift of being able to work and do ministry in Alaska  through A Christian Ministries in the National Parks with my mentor, and I am overjoyed about it. There are no words to describe how beautiful it is here, and honestly, the people are so so nice here, it's a very different culture from the cold New England attitude I come from.

But the best thing about this summer is how much I am learning about myself and God, and how God is working in my life. I really want to tell you about one of the things that has been working on my heart.

So the day after I got here, my mentor and I were walking around Anchorage, just talking and enjoying the area. And she told me about this concept that she had learned about this year, that she really wanted me to keep in mind while we worked together this summer.

The concept was the difference between being used by God, and working with God.

Think about it like this, would you want your boyfriend or friends or family to use you? No, that's not a healthy relationship, and it also implies that the other person is only in the relationship to get something out of it. That's not what our relationship with the Lord is supposed to look like.

When I have loved people, I have wanted the best for them, I have wanted them to get where they want to go in life, and I have wanted to help them achieve those things. But I have wanted to work with them to help them get there, not just be a stepping stool for them.

And I honestly believe that is what God wants out of His relationship with us too. We are called to spread the word about His love and Him, and show people Him. And at least personally there have really been times where I pretty much feel like I'm just supposed to be God's robot, none of me in my body doing anything, just Him. And to a point that's true, but I know I at least have a tendency to take that to too much of an extreme.  God gave each of us different personalities, and I think He did that for a reason.

Yes there is supposed to be WAY more of Him than our sinful selves in us, but there is supposed to be some of us. I don't think God put us on the earth with the thought "Okay Jeanette, here you are in the world, I'm making you different from everyone else, giving you your own gifts and unique things to love about you, you are like no one else. Now don't use any of those things I have given you to make you you in the world."

God is supposed to shine through us, but I think he made us like stained glass windows, each showing Him in a different light. Showing the same thing in different colors. Because I think everyone is blind to some colors, and they need the light to shine through a different one to see it fully. And even more importantly, all the different colors put together are what make the picture whole and beautiful.

I think it is really easy to want to have none of ourselves in us, and only God showing, because it is really easy for us to only see the horrible things about ourselves. But each of us have God's fingerprint on us, meaning there is something really special about each of us. And God wants to work with each one of His unique creations. If he simply wanted us to be nothing more than tools, He could have made us much easier to use.

But I think he doesn't want to use us, I think He wants to work with us.

And I think that's wicked awesome.