I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you… 2Tim1:5&6I had an interesting conversation on Sunday with a couple of girls at church. I was admiring one of their outfits and saying that I wished it came in a larger size. Her older sister had been over hearing the conversation and said that it had been hers. So, I told her that I really liked the bright vibrant green of her dress and her response was that the dress was a hand-me-down from one of her cousins in American. I then responded by saying that some of the best things in life are passed down. (In recent years especially, I have come to love hand-me-down clothes—probably because my sister has such great taste!)
I was reading a novel last week that the narrator described their living room as being decorated in the style of “early attic” and as I was cleaning this morning I realized that my house is decorated in the “miscellaneous garage sale” style (with the exception of my living room which has a little “former airport restaurant” mixed in with the garage sale motif). Sometimes that means that I have to put a cover over a chair because the upholstery is absolutely thread bare but at least it means that I have a comfortable chair to sit in, which is a precious (and rare) commodity in Niamey!
As the verse at the top of this entry suggests, the passing on of things isn’t limited to just physical “stuff” and some of us have been blessed with a great Christian heritage. I am thankful for the faith that has been passed on to me by my parents, grandparents and others that have influenced my faith journey over the years. And I guess we never really know what impact we are having on the lives of others around us this side of heaven, but my prayer is that I am living my life in such a way that it is making a difference on others spiritual journey as well. --At least I hope that my boys are learning more than just to be stubborn and that my former students will have learned more than how to write a good paragraph. But there also comes a point at which, regardless of our heritage we have to take responsibility for developing our faith and spiritual gifts by “fanning the flame”. As graduation draws near for Sahel I am reminded that this will be a new reality for many of my former students. I would encourage them and you to “fan the flame”!
As you remember us in prayer this week, please pray for Paul who is coming to visit us, Dave for his extra heavy workload right now, the staffing needs at Sahel (if you would like more information about Sahel try this website: http://www.sahelacademy.com ) and for the government of Niger.
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