Simple Truth...

Life has been busy...interesting...full. There are lots of stories to tell (and trust me, I love a good story!), but here is the most recent.

 Last week, we had a women's conference at our church with approximately 200 ladies from Phnom Penh and a few surrounding provinces. Over the two days, the guest speakers from Australia covered topics such as value, God turning our suffering into a message of His love, and how God asks for obedience to follow His word even if we don't fully understand it all at the time.

 At the end of the last session, we opened up the floor for some of the women to come up and give testimonies of things that God had done in their lives and spoken to them during the conference. These are the kinds of stories that I love. I enjoy teaching, but one of my favorite things about working with people is to hear what their hearts are walking through and watching people see God bigger than they did before.

 One woman shared that her whole life, she never had anything. Possessions. Family. Food. Place to live. Nothing. She said there were times in her life she didn't even have clothes to wear and had to go naked. She shared that she had to sell herself for food at times. Her life was the picture of brokenness and hopelessness. But then she met God. And she said in the two days of the seminar, she heard God say that she was valuable and He loved her very much. As she told her story, she just kept repeating, through her tears: "I love God. I love God. I love God. He's says I am valuable and He loves me. And I love God."

 That was the last thing that was spoken at the conference. The speakers got up to pray with her and we dismissed everyone else. It was not a planned, well-thought through conclusion that ended the conference. But it was the way God planned it. The way God feels about her, this woman who had nothing, is the same redemptive, restorative heart that He has for each one of the women in that room. And each one of us too. It was such a simple statement of truth, and yet not a minimal meaning. I love that there are so many things about God like that. We shouldn't complicate His truth and love. No, it's not something that can easily be understood in one sitting and there will always be something new to learn about Him and the depth of His love and character. But the simple truth is that He loves us.

 He loves me.

 He loves you.