Taking back the Crazy

       As I clumsily walked along the narrow, overgrown path with one student on each hand and another's arms wrapped around my waist, the power of what we were about to do all of a sudden hit me.  KYD has been struggling and struggling with their dry season farming.  They have become so discouraged, almost to the point of wanting to give up on the project.  Currently they are suffering attacks from some nasty crickets that are destroying the tomato plants. So, I decided to do the only thing that I, not being a farmer, knew how to do.  I decided to take my students to pray for the land. No big deal right? We were just going to walk down at the beginning of class, say a few prayers for the land and then continue on with our day.  It didn't seem that big of a deal to me when I first thought of the idea.  To be honest, I was thinking more about how it would be a good opportunity for my younger students to see what they can be a part of once they get older. I wasn't really thinking about the effects of our prayers.
But like I said, the excitement and craziness of what we were doing washed over me once we were actually walking to the farm. We were walking to a seemingly cursed farmland to pray that God would make that land fertile.  We didn't have any pesticides to spray or any coverings to protect the plants.  All we had were our voices and our faith in God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  Our faith that God can actually do the seemingly impossible and make that land produce a bountiful crop.  As I stood watching my students, ages 7-12, squat down, burry their faces in their hands, and ask God that the blood of Jesus would come and cover that land and that he would grow a great crop there, I caught a glimpse of the kingdom of God that is spreading here.  We are all growing in our trust that God can provide all that we need and that He is the One who can make a desolate land come to life. That is a beautiful picture of the kingdom of God here on Earth.
Just the other day, the KYD planted a new batch of tomato plants.  Who knows what will happen, but I know that we are having faith that God will bless that land and that the scene will be like Psalm 126, which says, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."  We serve a big God who loves and promises us anything we ask in Jesus' name.  We know our God is Jehovah Jireh, the Provider, and has always been and will always be faithful to His Word.

        Part of me was feeling like I had lost some of my crazy.  That part of me that is so in tune with the Holy Spirit that I can hear it telling me to do things that seem strange, things that are in line with the Kingdom of God.  I have missed it, but I don't know if it was ever really gone, or if I was choosing not to acknowledge it.  I wasn't looking at any of my situations as something spiritual, it just became life -- mundane.  But we when ask God to give us eyes to see and ears to hear, we are opened up to a whole world that has always been there, we just choose not to see it.  There is so much more going on in the world than what we can see with our plain, physical eyes. So, in asking God to give me eyes to see, He allowed me to see going and praying for a farm in a new light, in the light of His kingdom and it is such a sweet way to see life.  I pray I will always have eyes to see the world in light of his kingdom!