By Kathy Troccoli
A few years ago, I had the privilege of joining Life Outreach International and Life Today in their life-changing ministry in rural Africa. I can’t tell you how many times I have thought about the people I met on that missions trip.
The things I witnessed during that time often replay in my mind. I am constantly humbled at how blessed and “rich” I am. So many of us, including myself, can live with ungrateful hearts, oblivious to what is happening beyond our own backyard.
Like many of you, I have seen the footage of big-bellied toddlers and skeletal infants. It is one thing to watch scenes of devastation going on around this planet, and it is another thing to actually be there. I saw firsthand the open cuts and bruises and sores, and smelled the awful effects of being without clean water and a bar of soap. I patted the heads of many red-haired children who got their “carrot tops” from being severely malnourished.
Every day we would travel to different villages to feed hundreds of people. The lines were long, and even with the intense heat they waited anxiously for their share of the hot soup. Some would hand me old water bottles, and my heart would break as I tried to fill them to the brim. I even picked a leaf from a nearby tree and used it as a spoon to serve one little baby. Old rusty pots and filthy plastic bowls were their containers.
When the big barrels of soup were almost empty (they were the size of huge outdoor garbage bins), the children would become frantic. Kids would push each other in order to climb into the barrels — just to get another lick.
On other days we would hand out clothes. We laid them in a tall pile and divided the children and young adults into lines. We would assess their sizes as best as we could and then hand them a bundle. It was like Christmas for them. The looks on their faces were priceless.
I will never forget my experience with one little girl. She must have been two or three years old. Clinging to her mother, the only thing she was wearing was a light pink woolen sweater that was ridiculously too small for her. It was painfully tight around her arms, and the front was barely held together by a button and a thread.
I was so excited to hold up a bright new sweater and show her that it was now hers. Much to my surprise, when I tried to take off that old sweater, she clung even tighter to her mother and pushed me away. I tried again and she started to cry. I couldn’t convince her that this was a good thing and that she would be so much happier and more comfortable.
If she could have talked, I sensed what she would have said: “Please don’t take the only thing I have. It is all I have known. I don’t understand this new thing.”
I slid the new sweater under her mother’s arm. In time, the little girl would know what I was trying to give her.
When I came back to the States, that little girl remained one of my most vivid images. Her tears affected me deeply, especially because I was longing to give her a good thing.
I think God must feel the same way, longing to give us the new thing, but we get settled in the old. We often say we want Jesus, but we don’t want to change! Instead of being wide-eyed with expectation, we remain stagnant. He longs to give us the new thing. He yearns to give us his good and perfect best and we get settled in the old.
How sad for us. We don’t want to give up the familiar for the unknown. Whether comfortable or miserable we remain where we are. Instead of being wide-eyed with expectation we will remain stagnant — even in a state of numbness or deadness all under the banner of Christianity. How often we miss out on his best. We miss out on what Italians call “La Dolce Vita” — the sweet life. We hang on to our puny crumbs instead of enjoying His feast.
REVELATION 21:5: BEHOLD I WILL MAKE ALL THINGS NEW…FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.
Who doesn’t want the new thing?
— the past not to hurt,
— the weight loss,
— the anger in our hearts to go away.
There is a billion dollar industry that exists to bring us forward in personal growth to achieve personal best, to gather personal fortune. To go from point A to point B.
And yet 2000 years ago, Jesus said…I make all things new. Come follow me.
We don’t believe it…
Somehow our progress is greatly hindered or has come to a grinding halt.
Now that doesn’t mean that we just lay down, but the truth is…
No matter what you’ve done...
No matter where you’ve been...
No matter how often you’ve failed...
You can’t “out-sin” the love of God. You can’t stop His heart from wanting to bring redemption and newness. He is all about that.
The only ones who put stop signs on the roads to His glory are you and me.
It is because we are busy believing out of our brokenness.
Questioning out of our pain.
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Are there chains on the hands that created the heavens?
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Are there blinders on the eyes that saw you in the womb?
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Are there straps on the arms of the one who rolled the stone away?
We respond to this love with obedience and sacrifice and isn’t that needed in any healthy relationship?
We must look at the hurts, sadness and anger in our hearts. Get them up and out before God.
We must intentionally clean house so that Jesus can truly live and breathe in our souls and then pour out through our character. It’s honest and it’s humble and it involves repentance. We must not be afraid of the suffering because it will produce life.
The loss of both my mother and father to cancer has made me so much more sensitive to others and to the frailty of life. The depression that I’ve struggled with has made me so much more compassionate. My addiction to bulimia and its behavior earlier in my life has made me more disciplined and wise in being able to encourage and comfort others.
Do you see the pattern of how God works? Let God give you the new thing. Offer that “sweater” freely, knowing that He will give you His best and it will look so good on you.
Kathy Troccoli is the author of Live Like You Mean It: Seven Celebrations to Rejuvenate Your Soul (WaterBrook Press). An award-winning singer and songwriter, Kathy’s rich, melodic voice is showcased on her latest CD, Comfort, and her upcoming release, The Story of Love. She has garnered numerous number-one radio hits, two Dove Awards, and three Grammy nominations. Kathy’s other books include Am I Not Still God? and the bestseller Falling in Love with Jesus. Her numerous TV appearances include Life Today, The Tonight Show, and Entertainment Tonight. With her expressive and passionate style of communication, Kathy is a sought-after conference speaker and seminar leader.
