Love.

Background story for those who don't know it:

I went to China for two weeks this summer with an organization called Bring Me Hope. Essentially what they do is lead summer camps for Chinese orphans. This is just a little reflection on my two weeks there.

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God’s love translates into all languages.

It translates perfectly, knowing no boundaries or hindrances because He is Love.

The five days flew by. No... sped by. No... they bounded by completely unbridled. One of the Chinese staff and I were talking last night about writing. “I try and capture life with my words, but my vocabulary is so limited that I can’t.” I can’t either, sadly, and this is what I studied years of my life to achieve. But to capture this experience (and I mean TRULY capture it) with words is impossible. I can’t even tell you how fast the week went by, much less tell you about the rest of the week.

It’s semi-frustrating not knowing the language you are surrounded with almost every minute of every day. I wish I could talk with the kids, I wish I could listen to them and their stories firsthand. Don’t get me wrong, for the past week I have had an amazing translator. But the way I communicate with kids at home, the way we teach each other has a lot to do with the fact that we are able to talk with each other. I think of Vacation Bible School just last week. I was able to talk about God with the kids so openly and freely, sharing the one thing that binds us all together in this lattice or spiderweb or the basis for this cosmic connection, if you will. It is God who created us, sustains us, and brings us together every moment of every day. Even with your worst enemy you have this connection of being made in the image of God and alive through the grace and love of the same Being. But that is beside the point. The point is

...

It was over a month ago that I wrote those words while sitting on the new semi-wood floor of the dorms at the university. I’ve had a month of being back in the States, my head not really screwed on tightly and a huge piece of my heart still with my orphan kids. Thirty days to reflect and figure out what the point is.

Love.

That’s it.

Love brought the Bolts to China.

Love created Bring Me Hope.

Love brings all of us hope.

It’s Love that keeps the organization running and growing; Love that makes every day and every week of Bring Me Hope camp happen. It’s Love that causes people to travel 10,000 miles to be with a kid. Love doesn’t just sit around and do nothing- Love ACTS. Love causes us to play games of basketball in 90 degree weather with 80% humidity. Love leads us to cuddle, sing, and pray four Chinese orphans to sleep when we feel completely exhausted. Love doesn’t just ask you to sit back and watch the world unfold around you. No, Love demands that you run straight to the heart of the world and unfold it yourself. Love may not be glamorous and it may not be easy. It can break your heart. But man, lemme tell ya- it’s life changing.

You see, Love came down and showed us exactly how unglamorous it can be. Love lived a perfect life and healed a lot of people. Love never hurt anyone but only came to bring hope, to seek and to save the lost. But Love was betrayed by His friends. Love was crucified on a cross and killed by those who were supposed to love Him. It was Love who took on everything icky we had ever done and would ever do. It was Love who paid the price, Love Who conquered the devil, and Love Who rose again to bring us even more hope.

When we accept Love, we accept His life. We put on His robes, we carry the cross. It’s not glamorous... a lot of the time it’s sweaty, frustrating work. It’s having an orphan in your arms, screaming at you for a solid 30 minutes. But Love knows know bounds! Not even death can hold it back.

So who are we to hold it back? Take a chance. Hug an orphan. Pursue Love (1 Corinthians 14:1).