He is strong and he is good!

As this summer comes to an end and I transition back into my “normal life”, people want to hear about my Summer. I am frequently asked questions along the lines of “What was the biggest impact on you from this Summer?” or “What have you learned about yourself after this Summer?”

And those are lofty questions that I feel I should have lofty answers to.

So I begin to think about my Summer and the people I encountered, and the hands I held, and the hugs I received. I think about the faces that are burned in my heart because I was simply able to hand them a piece of bread and some milk. I think about the different people I prayed for and their stories they so graciously shared with me. I think about the kids I sang with and played with and learned alongside.

I close my eyes and breath in deep and can smell the body odor and the dirt of my homeless neighbors that became my friends. My mind is flooded with pictures of their smiles, and the dirt under their fingernails, and the holes in their clothes.  I can hear their voices of gratitude, and their grunts of despair. I think about them fondly, and wish they knew the impact they made in my heart and in my life.

But yet with all these precious memories, I struggle to say how I was impacted the most. I could give you some Christianese answer about the gospel being spread, and being impacted by experiencing domestic poverty. And while those things happened and are true, they seem so…empty. I can’t sum up my encounters with these precious people with a sweeping generalizing statement about being impacted by poverty and homelessness in America, because the people that I encountered aren’t defined to me by their circumstance.

So here I find my heart beating harder and faster on this plane ride home thinking about how to answer those questions. And all that comes to mind is this:

God is strong, and he is good.

And I’ve decided, that’s enough.

If all I can put into words about this Summer is the fact that God is strong and he is good, it’s enough for me. And it will always be enough for me.

So when you ask me about my Summer, and I stumble around and tell you “It was good” and that’s all I can manage…it’s because from the depths of my soul I am crying out “God is strong and he is good!” and i`m afraid that’s not what you want to hear.

I can’t tell you how many people were “saved” because of our presence this Summer. I can’t even tell you how many people we helped feed through the Salvation Army soup kitchen. But I do know one heart for sure was impacted this Summer. I know because that heart is beating a little stronger inside of me now. It’s stronger remembering that the same God who led me to New York, is the same God who is watching over my dear friends I had to leave behind. And when I know that my God is strong, and he is good—I know there is hope for the community of Harlem.

And that’s enough for me, and I don't think there is a better takeaway.

God is strong and he is good.