His song

Hi guys! I'm back from Cameron Highlands! It was really fantastic. When we alighted the bus it was like stepping from the fridge to the freezer. for the first 2,3 days I had to wear triple layers to keep my insides from shivering, but as I became able to appreciate the cold I was like superman on the emergency rescue mission!

It was a great one week of meeting new people, discovering new things about myself and God, and simply getting away. Every morning was a different morning. One day I woke up to find the orange of the sun’s rays reflected on only one side of the hotel opposite ours, like a tinge of gold on a plate of silver. Then another morning a heavy mist descended upon us, and the air was so fresh it was like breathing cold water but not choking. The best time of the day was stepping out of the hot shower, feeling fresh and clean, and warm but cool.

Anyways, back to the camp, I had a workshop on how to study Psalms. It was spread over 4 days and it was always a joy to go. It was much more fun and enlightening than it was technical, because the speaker was always telling us jokes and introducing new songs and lyrics in the midst of teaching us life principles. One thing he made us do was to write a personal psalm, and I thought it was really meaningful. I tried and I really enjoyed it a lot, cos in the process of writing it, I learnt how to look through God’s eyes, at ourselves, His own creation.

You see, as I wrote the psalm I wanted it to encompass all my thoughts and feelings sufficiently, and yet be expressed with beauty. As I wrote I tweaked it endlessly, changing what I thought was not good to something better. I wanted it to be me, and to accurately portray what I know I can never express spontaneously in a conversation.

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them… God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Gen 1:27,31

Being the creator of my own psalm I finally understood what we mean to God. In us, He wanted Himself to be seen. We were His poem or psalm, His work of art that was supposed to reflect His character. He created us, His psalm, and saw that it was all “very good”.

Yet something happened that caused us to fall from this peace. It was as if the letters started to move about on their own, demanding their place in the poem, some even wanting out. Imagine writing your essay, with your keyboard screwed up. The effect is not what you desired it to be - very good.

So, no matter what the world tells you of what you feel, you are as God intended for you to be. Be still and know that God has created you in His image, and He loves you simply as you are :)

Beauty… is the shadow of God on the universe. ~Gabriela Mistral, Desolacíon

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Amanda and Dino, thanks for your sharings! :) I am encouraged by them and I'm sure everyone else is too. Indeed we always tend to rely on our own strength to even love God, but all things come from God, and to do anything, nothing but God is sufficient. After the camps in December are over, think about how to sustain this renewed relationship with God, and what you are going to do with the convictions that He has placed in your heart! More often than not, we let these lessons slip away all too easily. In December and January we are on fire, but by November we are dry as a desert land. Take time off daily to be still before God, so that your awe of Him will never fade!

Jess