I'm not one to follow the news and am usually the last to see and hear what everyone else knows. So it is quite possible that you have already seen or at least heard of a girl named Katie Davis. But if you haven't, her story is one worth knowing about.
Katie is a girl who at age 19, left her comfortable life in Brentwood, Tennessee to work in Uganda. She just felt a stirring. She didn't have any idea where or how far or deep this stirring would lead her, but she followed it. Still a teen, she found herself mothering several children, taking care of the sick and dying and serving and loving every brown person in her path.
She is nothing special, nothing more special than all of us anyway. She's just a girl. But her story has rocked my world. I have been glued to her story, watching videos of her on you tube and following her blog. Again, not because she is amazing. But her story is. I am enthralled with people who don't just talk Jesus, but live Jesus. This girl is compelled to chase after this Jesus man in ways that make you want to cry. And I have. I cry not because I think Uganda is our next stop, but because He is worth THIS much of her life. And mine. And so are the people that she loves. They are worth all that she gives. And because somewhere in me, I long to live this kind of life. Not necessarily in the dirt of Africa but the kind of life that only finds its joy in following hard after Jesus, no matter what people think. No matter what that life looks like. The kind of joy that even in the hard, you throw your head back in laughter because you have this joy welling up inside of you that can only come from Him. The source of this joy though- it's not always what you think it should be. We find him in the hurt and pain of this world. The yucky messed up places. Do I believe I will really encounter Jesus in the hurting, in the poor and the homeless? Do I live like I am serving Jesus in the ways that I talk to and treat the people that I live among and encounter? We really are serving Jesus when we talk to and treat every person as if they were Him. I have lived much of my life searching for him in Bible studies and in church on Sunday morning. And he is there. But I have a feeling he is not just there. He has left the church building. He is in the places of poverty. Physical and spiritual poverty. He really can be seen in the eyes of the destitute and lonely, the outcast. And they're not just in Africa. They're everywhere. They're at my kids' schools, and they are my neighbor. I walk by them in in the malls and sit with them at Starbucks. But can I see them?
God, open my eyes to the world around me. Give me your heart for your people.
If you want to read more of her story, click here.
And to watch a promo of her book....
Shoot I want to be this girl's best friend or be just like her or something.
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't imagine having 14 kids at age 21, just having Jael is a lot of work. I think you already are living that kind of life, you wouldn't be in England if you weren't following after and trusting in Jesus.
ReplyDeleteArgh. Just composed a comment and then somehow deleted it. What I said was, HOW DID I MISS THIS??? God put this book/ministry/young lady in my life in an amazing and surprising way. Naomi Negley gave the book to Christy Cornelius, who rode out with Barry and Lily and I out to the onething conference in kansas City; Christy rode back with the Negley group, leaving the book in our car. I began to read it, liked it, and began to read it aloud to Barry as he drove. I had to stop many times as sobs overcame me -- God's heart touching mine.
ReplyDeleteI have been praying for years about going to Africa someday, just waiting on God's leading as to where and when. now with Megan Johnson in Malawi, I believe the time is coming soon! I definitely want to visit Katie's ministry, but in the meantime, have contented myself with buying numerous necklaces from Amazima, and reading the blogs. I too have watched all the youtube videos.
Thanks for the post. I love how God moves hearts and changes minds, using others to inspire us to live FOR HIM.