I am watching palm fronds sway in the breeze and waves break against the shore as I sit writing this. We are presently at West African Missionary Retreat which is held every year at the beach. We have air conditioned rooms (which may not sound like much, but in our lives it’s a pretty big deal,) a pool, the beach, and meals that I neither have to prepare nor clean up! We have a speaker who is leading us into the heart of God’s word, missionary friends with whom we can pray and share, and Bible classes for our children. However, this year I have something that means more than all of those things, I have my mother here with us.

As I had anticipated the arrival of my mother I thought that the greatest gift of her visit would be that we would finally get to share our life with her and she will truly see what it is like. She will meet our dear friends and brothers and sisters, she will see how the Togolaise live, and most of all she will witness the beauty of God in this place as he shows himself in the landscape, wild animals, and above all the lives of those who have joined him. I have longed for her to be able to witness this so that she could have deeper understanding when we tell her about things.

However, since her arrival I have been seeing another blessing that I had forgotten, but for which I am praising our good and generous Father. God has been showing me the beauty of his love for all of mankind through my mother. She has such a gift for seeing people as God’s precious children and for loving them. She pours herself out into others and does so with such genuine joy and appreciation for who they are that it is inspiring to see. She is here this week to help teach the children’s Bible class, and I love watching her prepare as well as seeing her engage with the children when they are not in class. I have been a recipient of this selfless love and willingness to serve my entire life, and it has made me into who I am today.

When we speak of how a person is gifted in a particular area I believe that it means that God has endowed that person with a measure of his glory. I think that this in part is what it means to be created in the image of God. Perhaps that is why it is so encouraging to see someone working out their gift. It is beautiful to see God pouring out his love and ministering to his children, but it is especially sweet to see it being worked through someone who is so dear and special to me.