Remember Who You Are...

I am finally DONE with my essays - halleluia! I finally have the time to get out of my room and breathe the cold winter air I have felt deprived of lately. I'm really looking forward to these next few days that I have here in Canterbury, before going home to the land of Switzer. I've bought a fair amount of tangerines today, and the scent they've left in my room and on my fingertips brings back to mind the joy that comes with Christmas time. I think I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that Christmas is near - the answer lies with the tangerines, my friends.

I was taken on a surprise adventure to London last Thursday for my birthday to see the Lion King's Musical. It was one of the nicest surprises I've had in a while. Consequently, I'm in a bit of a Lion King phase at the moment - nothing to worry about just yet - but I did order the musical's cd which to my happy surprise came through today. Even though this story is all about lions and cubs, with the occasional hyenas and warthog, it touches on some great themes: sacrificial love, living the life that we've been called to and living it to the fullest, the anguish of patiently waiting on our Father to guide us...

"Where has the starlight gone?
Dark is the day
How can I find my way back home?
Home is an empty dream
Lost to the night,
Father, I feel so alone.

I'm trying to hold on
Just waiting to hear Your voice
One word, just a word will do
To end this nightmare.

When will the dawning break
Oh endless night
Sleepless I dream of the day
When You were by my side
Guiding my path
Father, I can't find the way.

I know that the night must end
And that the sun will rise
I know that the clouds must clear
And that the sun will shine."

One of the moments I eagerly await in this story is when Simba sees the reflection of his father in the water. His father tells him "Remember who you are". I find that this rings so true of my own life. We are called to live a life to its very fullest. For me to start embracing this gift of life, I constantly need be reminded of who I am: a child of God. I have been bought with a price and cannot be separated from the love of God. The good work God has begun in me will be perfected; I am the salt and light of the earth, a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life, I am God's temple... I have the greatest unshakable inheritance awaiting me. Too often I forget what it means to be a child of God and I don't take hold of this life that has been offered to me. I become comfortable with the radical truth of the gospel, familiar with Jesus, satisfied with the church. I need to come back to the drawing board and remember who I am. Embrace this life God has blessed me with. A life of adventure. A life of undignified service to my God. A life where I remember that God's love pursues me every single day. A life where I know that His loving-kindness and faithfulness begin afresh with each new day. A life worthy of His sacrifice. The life He breathed in us.

"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventuroulsy expectant, greeting God with a childlike 'What's next Papa?'" Romans 8:15