Desire to Inspire #19

She was beautiful.

Long dark hair cascading down her back in loose curls, wavy whisps tucked behind her ears, revealing a face full of life. Full of joy. Full of love.

Big brown eyes, accented with tiny, almost invisible wrinkles – the kind of wrinkles that hint of many years of smiles so big it reached her eyes – smiled up at me. Her eyelashes were long, her skin dark from the sun.

She was small, several inches shorter than me, with an enviable, slender frame. But despite her small frame, she was full of inner strength. The kind of strength that is married to wisdom. Drawn from a lifetime of experiences, a mind dedicated to studying, and the lifelong dance that is the beautiful partnership of pain and joy.

We were strangers, she and I. From two different worlds. Making our homes in cultures as achingly different as our spoken languages.

And yet she greeted me with a warm embrace, a kiss on my cheek, and words of welcome and blessing.

And for a moment – the kind of moment that when you look back it feels as if time had stopped – we were not so different. There was no language barrier. No cultural differences. There was nothing but pure, unadulterated Christian unity.

She led me to a room poorly lit. The sun was setting, and the east-facing window offered only a tease of daylight. A single, exposed light bulb shined the only physical light in the room, casting long, lonely shadows in the the corners.

I sat on a wooden bench, a cool breeze whispering through the open window, with red curtains dancing as the wind reached it’s torn edges. I listened to that wise, beautiful woman speak with passion and conviction and authority.

She spoke in a language I do not  know. And yet I understood her message. Her words were foreign to my ears, but her message was a familiar, beloved truth to my heart.

She spoke of the Trinity – “Three in One” – and the important work of the Holy Spirit. She wisely asserted that we cannot expect changed lives without a changed spirit. Her face was radiant as she testified to salvation, and the change that comes from trusting Jesus.

It was perhaps one of the best moments of my life. To sit in her classroom, on a hard wooden bench with poor lighting and frayed curtains. A small cross hung on the door, offering the only decoration in the room.

As I sit in a classroom bare and impoverished,  I hear words that I cannot know -that I could never understand without years of study.

And yet I understand the message. I know the truth because it resonates within me every day.

It is a Message that transcends language, that is not bound by culture.

A Message of grace.

Are you ready to be an inspiration? (To find out the purpose of this linky, please read this post.)

• Please visit the others who link up and leave kind, encouraging words for them. Don’t have a lot of time to read them all? Visit the person who linked up before you.
• If you tweet about linking up, please use the hashtag #desiretoinspire
• Link up your own quality, read-worthy posts.
• Focus on how you can be an inspiration, not what inspires you.
• You do not have to follow ARD, but of course I’d love it if you would.
• Link up your specific posts, not your blog’s homepage.
• Please do not link up giveaways, blog/social media hops, or shops.
• Please link back to A Royal Daughter in your post (using the button below, or a text link back) or add this linky party to your linky party list.

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Amanda

@aroyaldaughter

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Latest posts by Amanda (see all)

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