An Affected Heart

Our eyes are extremely important in order to help in everything we do everyday.  Often, what we see stimulates and determines some of our actions.  Psalm 34:8 also includes the spirit man's eyesight along with the tasting. Paul's prayer (in Eph. 1:18) was that the eyes of our heart be enlightened.  The heart (in this reference) does not indicate the seat of emotion as we more commonly refer to, but rather of thought and will.  Our understanding needs to be right so that we can fully comprehend all that God has called us to.

Veronica at "Theshticks.com" has captured my heart in her drawing of me praying in a village in Papua New Guinea. After looking at some of the pictures I sent her I was totally at peace with what she would come up with.

 My eyes affected my heart the first time I viewed slides from a widowed missionary lady who worked in the Phillipines teaching the women and children how to read their own language.  Little did I know God was going to use her to start praying for my husband and I.  Soon after meeting her we begin to get the New Tribes magazine, Brown Gold delivered to us monthly.  Every article we read drew us to missions.   We were heavily involved in evangelism in our community, enjoying our  ministry.  But those articles about the few who were willing to go to the unreached tucked in  remote places stirred us.  Truth is, they did more then stir us, they changed us into people of God who would willingly say, Your will God, not ours.  I love the fact God works is a progression most of the time and His timing is perfect.   About four years after meeting this missionary lady we entered into the New Tribes training that would teach us some ways to live in remote places.  It was exciting and scary at the same time but so worthwhile.

Nothing could really prepare us though for the affect  of finally getting to our first overs seas assignment.  God begin to build on the training of how it takes a team to reach those living in place that sometimes even a helicopter can"t reach.   I think I really understood for the first time why God gave us feet. 

I often write mission posts because it where my heart is.   I know some may not believe this but those who live without a gospel witness will die and go to hell without a chance to believe.   Ace and I are grateful for those who are part of our team, praying and giving so we in turn could go.  God uses many different ways to challenge us all to obey Him...these are just a few He used.  A 50 year widow missionary women, a magazine full of God stories  of going to the ends of the earth, and a pastor with a heart for missions.  When we sit down to tell him what we believed God's will was for us, we said, my brother, you preached us out of this church by keeping before us the needs of the world.  The missionaries we met while in training only highten the desire to go and be a part of telling the gospel.   Never in a million years could the Sunday school teacher who invited us to visit her church could have known what God had in store for us.  But she too was part of the process. 

               How has your eyes affected your heart?