London Town

What can I say about London, I mean its London.

It is beautiful and seriously jam packed full of people! I am overwhelmed by the amount of people on the streets and I have to control my tendency to feel anxious when large crowds of people are bumping me and touching me.

We have seen a surprising amount of the city in just two days. We have managed to master riding the underground and have gotten around pretty easily. I have to say the most shocking thing that has happened since we arrived happened to me yesterday.

We rode the train to Oxford circle and were welcomed by the lovely sight of H & M. However, before we could enjoy the wonderful stores that surrounded us I had to exchange my money for pounds. I handed the nice women my hard earned money, she in turn responded by handing me back a little more than half the amount in pounds. Ouch. I have to be honest this hurt my heart a little bit. After a long day of shopping and sight seeing we walked into the Wembley arena for the very first night of the Hillsong Colour conference.

From the first moment I was overwhelmed. The amount of women who were in this place was amazing. As I sat and watched the event take shape I knew that God had something special for me. The music started and it was amazing. I have been in the presence of God many, many times but for the first time I was standing among a group of over 6,000 people worshiping and praising God together and I have to say there is nothing like it.

I have been a runner for a few years now and there is something that happens to me when I am running. I never drink before or during a run so by the time I am done my mouth is dry. I never realize just how thirsty I am but the second I get some cold water I realize I was parched! That is the only thing I can think of to describe how I felt last night. I didn’t really know how thirsty I had become, but last night I felt the water of God refreshing my soul; every dry place in my life was flooded by the Spirit of God and it felt amazing. I have a friend who is a song-writer and one of his songs is stuck in my head it says, “if you are thirsty, there is living water”. I understand now like I never have before what it means to have living water.

Even this morning as we came back to the conference I was so overwhelmed by the sound of so many women praising God together. I began to think about how I was just hidden among so many women, just a face in this huge crowd. Even as the thought was going on in my head Pastor Bobbie Houston walks onto the stage and encourages the crowd with this, “in the midst of this crowd, God sees you”. I knew in that place that even though there were so many people that God was looking down and seeing me. He knew I was there even if it matters to no one else, I know that it matters to God. I can be one in the midst of 6000 and God cares about my life and my situation. How amazing is that!

I am not sure what the rest of this weekend will hold. I know that we will have fun shopping and sightseeing. I know I will continue to eat a ton of really amazing food! I hope however that this weekend leaves its mark on me in a way that I can carry home to my family and my friends. I hope that when I get home people see more of Jesus in me. I hope that I am not only here for me but for all of the people in my life. God sees us in Macon. He sees us in the midst of a world full of people who need Him and He cares about what we need. What a simple revelation that is, but it stirs up so much faith in me. It helps me to believe that He will meet my needs and the need of the people around me. I can’t wait to see the aftermath of this weekend and how my life is changed.