I would assume that many of you have at some point sponsored a child through one of the many organizations out there.  I've been sponsoring an 11 year old boy from Ethiopia for years named Mohamed Nesiru.  I wonder sometimes about what he imagines Shannan and I are doing, what our life is like.  It's really hard to know what he does on a day-to-day basis, what he enjoys, what he is excited about.  You know what I'm talking about if you've ever sponsored a child.  I ask a bunch of questions about him, but most letters come back like, "Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Keeler.  I am learning about God.  I like soccer.  I have a goat.  Do you have goats?  Please write soon.  Bye Now!  Mohamed."  (And in case you are wondering, I don't have any goats;)  Maybe when he's old enough to write the letter himself I'll get my many questions answered.

We are all so consumed by our everyday hustle and bustle, especially in D.C.  Time is scheduled down to the minute.  I'm leading the Edge service this weekend and I'm told EXACTLY how long my announcements must be, down to within a few seconds!  Now that's telling of the type of society we live in!!

How many of you have this experience on a regular basis.  You get off to a late start and rush in to work, start getting into your day and realize, "I haven't even prayed or thought about God at all today, I'm such a bad Christian!"  So you start praying, "Dear God, thank you for all you've done in my life, for my family, friends, for my job...for this TPS report I need to finish....(rabbit trail) I hate doing these things, that reminds me I need to call a client to find out if we can move forward in this deal...did I turn off the burner this morning?... Oh, sorry God, anyway please help me to focus on you this week and give me opportunities to reach people for Christ...amen.  Okay, now back to work."

Yeah, off to a great start huh?!  I say this because I'm guilty of this too.  With everything happening at MBC Uptown lately in my life, I've seen this trend happen in my life even more than normal.  

The odd thing is that the crazier, busier, more complex our lives become, the MORE we should be relying on Christ!  That's the paradox of the Christian life.  Charles Spurgeon once said, "The busier my day is the more time I spend with God."  He's right isn't he?  Why is it then that we only seem to rely on God when we are in a really bad situation or in church?

So what does this have to do with an 11 year old boy in Ethiopia?  I'm really not sure... but every time I look at his picture in my office, it reminds me that I need to be relying on Christ not on my self.  Maybe it's because Mohamed has so little.  His father died when he was young, his mother is blind, he sleeps on a dirt floor, and most people in his country are dead by 40.  But everything he has he is so grateful for.  He thanks God for goats, school and a soccer ball.  I have everything I need and so much more, but I thank God so little and truely rely on him for even less of my day-to-day decisions.  We need to meditate on this passage from Isaiah:

   

Thank you Mohamed for asking me if I have goats.

Nate