Living la vida abundante!

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10b

In an earlier blog post I (Anne) mentioned that I had spent some time the night before we left for Spain thinking about our life over the past 2 1/2 years. It wasn't intentional; I was just laying in bed and was in that excited sleep mode....you know how you felt the night before Christmas when you were a kid...so I just couldn't get to sleep and my mind started wandering. I know in a way it was triggered by leaving our home country and so many friends and family in North Carolina and Texas. My mind wandered to those people and the memories we had made with them over the past 2 1/2 years....I say 2 1/2 years because that is how long we had lived in Raleigh and it really marked a drastic change in our lives.

I remembered when we first decided to attend church in a movie theater - Southbridge. And then getting connected to our first community group which led to some amazing friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ - and most importantly led to Brendan's salvation! I thought of our families and the different things that were going on in their lives. I realized that all the memories I was thinking of had a theme - people's lives being changed by a relationship with Jesus Christ! Then the verse from John 10 came to mind - the abundant life.

Christians often talk about the abundant life - we tell each other that it is what Jesus wants for us, which is true. But I think we don't often know what the abundant life really is. So many of us haven't actually experienced it so how would we know what it means to live the abundant life God has called us to? While wandering through my memories, I found that the life I am living now is the abundant life. And it is not a life filled with stuff or money or lots of friends on Facebook! I believe Christians experience the abundant life that Jesus wants for us - that He came to this earth for - when we earnestly seek God's plan for our life. When we seek Him, we see the opportunities He gives us everyday to be used by Him in helping others experience His love/grace/mercy - to experience a personal relationship with Him.

What could be more abundant than witnessing God change people's lives right in front of you?! What's funny (or ironic) is that God was changing people's lives in front of me for many, many years before I moved to Raleigh, but I wasn't really that in on the action. I wasn't earnestly seeking God and instead my eyes were focused on me instead of the opportunities God laid out in front of me to be used by Him in other people's lives. So glad to be living the abundant life NOW, and I'm excited to see what opportunities God gives us to further His kingdom while in Spain!

La vida abundante! Don't miss out on it!