Inner Glow

This morning I woke up, my first day back in the states after spending 10 glorious days in the Dominican Republic. I opened up my devotion for the morning and read about Mother Teresa’s inspiration to serve. It talked about how her Inspiration lifted her spirits and made her face shine. It gave her an inner glow similar to that of Moses when he came down from the mountain after encountering Christ. The last few sentences sum up the devotion: “Like Moses and Mother Teresa, we may not always feel the glow of God’s presence within us. But it can be seen on the faces of others, and they may see it on ours when we follow Christ in our love and service.”

I have traveled many times to the Dominican Republic and every time I return people remark on the inner glow I have and how joyous I seem. Pictures reflect this inner glow when surrounded with children or when just sitting with one reading a book. I do not see it and often times feel like I am in darkness dealing with disappointment, struggles, and obsticles. I have been working for 3 years and have completed no tasks, brought no mends to physical needs, and been overwhelmed by the amount of money or expertise needed. These passages in 2 Corinthians gives me hope and encourage me to continue to seek the light that shines in the midst of the darkness.
3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
4: 1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
4:5-6 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

May we all find that place and those people who bring out our inner glow, that give us joy and peace, but most of all HOPE. Renewed Hope Missions is founded on the fact that hope is the anchor to our soul. Hope is that light that shines in the midst of darkness and Christ is the provider of that hope. In the midst of struggle, disappointment, sickness, and dispair we renew the hope of the people of Cuesta Arena and point them to the source of our light.