A constant theme I see in the New Testament is the joy of investing in others. A great example of someone who made it their vocation to impart unto others was the Apostle Paul. We can see in his letters to the young pastor Timothy, that Paul cared for him as a son and he put great effort into giving him guidance and spiritual counsel. Paul recognized a gift from God in Timothy, and he encouraged him to move forward in his gifting and to continue fanning a flame of passion and service for Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:4).

Paul had led Timothy to faith in Christ, mentored him, and brought him on missionary trips. Paul commissioned Timothy to stay with the church in Ephesus to help the congregation discard the false teachings that were sprouting up.

 The responsibilities that Timothy took on in shepherding the flock in Ephesus and protecting them from false teachers, may have been intimidating for a young man with little experience in a full-time pastoral role, but Timothy was not left to just try and make it on his own.

Paul’s letters to Timothy, and the way he speaks highly of Timothy in letters to the other churches, are all evidence that Paul made a place in his heart for this young man who he saw so much potential in. Paul made himself available to Timothy the best that he could and encouraged him in his calling, recognizing the greatness God bestowed on him and helping him take every opportunity to apply his gifting and live a life uncompromised for Jesus.

Let’s think about the people who God has placed in our lives: at work, at school, in church, etc. Let’s consider the person right in front of us. To have influence in someone’s life is an incredible honor. Couldn’t God use us to see the gifts He has placed in people and bring attention to them? Couldn’t God use us to encourage someone to pursue their passion?

 Everyone has weaknesses and flaws. It’s easy to detect these things in people, and even to bring those things to light. But God has called us to a greater mandate.

God has given us the Holy Spirit so that we may look beyond the natural and into the supernatural. The supernatural are things that pertain to and are caused by the intervention of God

 This means that instead of just noticing short comings, we are able to see the capabilities and talents that God has put inside of people. We are able to see the craftsmanship of God in the personalities and characteristics of people. We are able to see not only the person as they are in the present, but what they could be in the future because of their potential.

I believe that as people of the kingdom of God, we have been chosen and equipped for the building up of the body of Christ. We haven’t received gifts from God so that we may just enjoy them and benefit from them for ourselves. We have been given gifts for the purpose of equipping the saints. We are the right people for the job. We have been called for this Holy purpose of investing in others.

 I think about what a joy it would be to come to the end of my life and count myself rich because of those lives who I’ve invested in and those individuals who I helped thrust towards greatness.

I pray that God would help us to see people the way that He sees them. I pray that we would see greatness and potential in the person right in front of us and that we would take the opportunity to invest in them and draw out and encourage the gifts that we see in them. Help us to give ourselves to others and for this to be our joy, as we all run this race together, fixing our eyes on Jesus.

Josh and I are experiencing some of that 'normal life' here in the quaint and beautiful province of Prince Edward Island. We've decided to spend some time here to get reconnected with our family, friends and our home church 'FaithWorks Centre'. Although for me, since I've only spent weeks at a time on the island, I'm really getting connected for the first time. Our focus right now is pouring into our home church and learning about the importance of belonging to a local church. We're also excited about some ministry opportunites that are in the works. We feel that this year is going to be challenging because we love the foreign field where the gospel doesn't have as many opportunities as it does here. But with that being said, we're convinced that this year is a crucial one for us in our walk with God and in our servanthood, and one that might even involve some correspondence to eventually obtain a Masters degree.
Just a couple of days ago Josh and I moved into our one bedroom unit at the Sunny King Motel in Cornwall which is just 10 minutes outside of Charlottetown. Josh's family has been more than gracious in their donations of houseware items so that we were able to settle into our new place easily. After living out of suit cases and sharing accommodations with others, there is something extra special about a little place we could call our own. As I walk around our small, cozy apartment I feel all the more that this is a new season. New seasons bring both excitement and uncertainty, but our hearts can rest knowing that God is a good Father and He is faithful, and His plans for us are good.
Josh is beginning to do homecare and I'm still on the job hunt. I had an interview at Tim Hortons that seemed promising but I lost the open position for 'baker' to someone transferring from another store. Today I applied at Robin's Donuts which is just across the street from us, and also at Sam's Family Restaurant and and Save Easy grocery store. Subway is also on my list as soon as I could print out the application for it- maybe I'll be a sandwich artist!
As I think about the 18 months that Josh and I have husband and wife, it's all been an adventure with some pretty amazing lessons, and I anticipate this year to be filled with more lessons, more opportunities and more people to encourage and help. I've become much more grateful for the spiritual covering of a home church and I think that Josh and I are going to learn much from being able to play a more active role in our home church and spend more time with our church family.