longing for restoration

I was able to be participate in part of the board retreat for Blood:Water Mission over the weekend, and I am in awe of God's crafting of the board and how one weekend can be so beneficial. For one thing, it is amazing that all 9 current members (many from outside Nashville) were able to be in one room at the same time. For another, what an encouragement to see the felt burdens of running an organization shared between a group of people rather than a few individuals. I am excited to hear more about what lies ahead, but left midway through the retreat completely encouraged and revived.

I've been learning and relearning and relearning (constantly) about what it really means to long for the restoration of all things...that what God said was "very good" will one day be made new and complete again. My work with Blood:Water Mission gives me an opportunity to work toward this. But too often I settle for my own agenda and goals, which fall blatantly short of the vision for God's restoration. I'd rather focus on making sure I have all my ducks in a row, and that I'm getting along with everybody. These things contain goodness, yet they lack in true fulfillment and grind against faithful living. Yesterday I had a hurtful interaction with a neighborhood friend, who for various reasons has been living on next to nothing, eating next to nothing, and has barely kept a roof over his head for the past 2 months. He's experiencing some of the darkest emotional and physical suffering that I've seen, and I left our (a friend was with me) interaction with him listening to him yell in anger with hateful words.

I bring up this situation not to exploit a friend (and forgive me if I fail in this), but to show the reality of the heart of every man and woman, and the reality of how hard it is to love well. As we walked to the car and drove away, I was mad, frustrated, and a little fearful. These emotions are a revelation that things are not as they should be, and that the only hope we have is that one day all things will be made new...restored...completed. Unless we open ourselves up to experience and feel the pains of the world, we likely have a very small view of the world and God's intentions and desires for us. What a tragedy considering the heights, the depths, and power of the love of God, especially in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.