Humility

Humility

One week during our ministry, we served a lady named
Leticia. We were meeting a felt need for three weeks and it was exciting to see
God beautify her house. As those weeks went by, I have spent some quality time
with her and Jesus. Building a relationship with her has been a blessing and
true honor. As I am telling Jesus how truly she had touched my life…he pressed
something in my heart to do. In the stillness I heard her name. I then ask God
how he wants me to minister to her other then meeting a felt need. I saw the
images of feet and her smile. I asked what this meant. God asked me to wash her
feet! I paused and pondered a lot after that message. How can I do that? How do
I ask such a thing in her house? I have never done something like this outside
of the church and that’s when His gracious voice corrects my voice. “Michelle
haven’t you been convinced that I am more than just the four walls of the
church? Haven’t you been confessing this to your brothers and sisters in Christ
of this reality? Then why are you questioning my request from you?” Lord you’re
right! So I asked God how to approach this request and to give me discernment.
Later that week Tiffany randomly told me that Leticia called her and asked if
we go to her house to paint. I wasn’t surprised that she called because I knew
God completes His will. So I quickly gave her a call and told her we were on
our way. I went up to our apartment to find a bowl and some towels. God told me
not to look and to meet her right away. I listened. We arrived into open arms
and quickly got started. The participants painted with great joy while I sat
and talked with Leticia.

 Before this trip I wouldn’t be able to do
this. I disliked people who sat and talked while people worked hard. I used to
think that when you’re on a missions trip, it’s all about works. I believed
that you should always be doing something and always on the go! This is true
but I took it to the extreme. I enjoy working. I do not know why, but I like
doing work with urgency. I feel like .. I have a task…and I MUST get it done
now. Throughout this year, God has been changing my perspective on this matter.
God has taught me the art of silence, the art of quality, the art of taking
your time, and the art of listening. I have been experiencing God challenge my
molds of ministry. I have been allowing the AIM participants to be fully
blessed by not doing all the work and building intentional relationships in the
city of Chicago. Ok… so back to Leticia.

She and I talked about random life
topics. She is so delightful to talk with. She shared how her children would be
in church and how they danced to church songs. She shared how her relationship
with Jesus has grown and how God has taught her to love others. She is a great
teacher of love. She is married to a man that lives in a lower part of her
house. They have been married for more than 50 years but it is a not fulfilling
marriage. She shared how her husband would fight a lot with her and the
children. They decided to move apart from each other but she still takes care
of him. I am in awe of this kind of love from her. As the day went on, I was
asking God how we wanted me to approach His request. I searched for my bible
and took it into where she was. I made some small talk before boldness from the
Lord showed up. I asked her if she had ever heard the story about how Jesus
washed his disciples’ feet. Her smile assured me she did. I told her how He
served his disciples and how he honored them. I asked her that if she would let
me honor her by not only serving her but washing her feet. Leticia was so
excited about this request. I have never seen an older woman jump out of bed
that fast in my life! She found me a foot tub and a towel! I’m thankful that I
listened to God earlier by not bringing stuff from my apartment. She had the
things we needed already. She was ready for this! God is good. The moment we
were getting all this ready..I mean the second we were getting ready to
start..her daughter came in the door. I was like..Yes Lord, her daughter is
going to be honored today too! I went up to her and boldly asked her if I could
wash her feet! She started crying!!!! I didn’t expect that. I hugged her and
lead her to the kitchen. I asked the girls that were with me to pray along with
me. I read from John 13. I felt the Holy Spirit in the room and expected God to
break walls. I washed and prayed for these wonderful feet. They experienced the
Holy Spirit in their kitchen that day. All of us were huddled together like
sardines in her kitchen and immersed in His goodness!

We finished and cleaned her
kitchen. As we left she hugged us and called us her angels! She was so grateful
for a simple random act of servant hood. After our projects were all done, we
all met up at the church to debrief. The participants discuss their experiences
as they served others. Kristen (one of the girl that was with me) spoke about Leticia’s
honorary service. She spoke about how the Holy Spirit touched her while she
watched. She also talked about how she learned about humility outside of
church! I am so glad I listened to God and obeyed His request. People received
Jesus.