“Give thanks to the Lord, His steadfast love endures forever.”
Psalm 118:1
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for the love, prayers, support, and encouragement you have given me. I've heard from many of you in the last weeks and have been truly blessed by your prayers and generous financial support.
In January, I attended the Word Made Flesh staff retreat in Atlanta with seventy others (including nine children). What a special time it was. Definitely a time of confirmation that Word Made Flesh is where I'm supposed to be. We are a group of young people who are called and led by God to go to the hard places of the earth and minister the healing and redemptive love of Jesus. New friendships were formed and old friendships were renewed. Thanks for your prayers for us during that time.
The theme of the retreat was “Poverty of Spirit”, taken from a small book with the same title by Johannas Baptist Metz. If you've read an issue of The Cry you may have read about the nine “Lifestyle Celebrations” of Word Made Flesh. They include Intimacy, Obedience, Humility, Service, Community, Simplicity, Submission, Brokenness, and Suffering. Of these nine, I learned the most about brokenness during this retreat.
One of my favorite quotes from a fellow staff member was, “We are a community marked by brokenness. And for some crazy reason we celebrate it!” (Kyle Cullum). Another friend remarked, “God can't shine through us unless we have cracks” (Andrea Baker).
In an email to home I wrote, “I can't even begin to tell you how much I am overwhelmed by God's love this week… He is teaching me much.”
As I continue to embrace brokenness, I am overwhelmed by God's love. The two seem to go together, brokenness and love. And my response to that Divine Love is worship. Every day I long to worship Him who gave His life for me. At the close of this letter are the lyrics to a song that speaks of Jesus' great love for us. It's a love song from Jesus to you and me.
Please continue to pray for me and for the Word Made Flesh community as we step into this new year. Other staff members' letters can be found at www.wordmadeflesh.com under “Reflections”. Your prayers sustain us in times of brokenness and in times of joy.
With love,
Rachel Simons
PS Please send me your email address for more timely updates and prayer requests. Also, If you'd rather not be on any mailing list, simply notify me. Thanks.
Love Song
I've heard it said that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves
How many times has he broken that promise?
It can never be done
I've never climbed the highest mountain
But I walked the hill of Calvary
Just to be with you, I'd do anything
There's no price I would not pay
Just to be with you, I'd give anything
I would give my life away
I've heard it said that a man would swim the ocean
Just to be with the one he loves
But all of those dreams are an empty motion
It can never be done
I've never swam the deepest ocean
But I walked upon the raging sea
I know that you don't understand the fullness of my love
How I died upon the cross for your sin
And I know that you don't realize how much that I give you
But I promise, I would do it all again
Just to be with you, I've done everything
There's no price I did not pay
Just to be with you, I gave everything
Yes, I gave my life away
Lyrics by Mac Powell of Third Day
Gordon College ~ 255 Grapevine Rd ~ Wenham, MA, 01984 rachel.simons@wordmadeflesh.com