As many of you know, I spent this past weekend in Chicago visiting my step sister.  We had a great time, and the city of Chicago was amazing.  I loved the weather, the sites, the Cubs game, and the food.  I got a chance to take a tour of the city on asegway.  That was an adventure, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

As my weekend progressed, I found myself spending more and more time in deep thought, which for those of you who know me is a rarity.  The Lord kept bringing to mind the Scripture of Matthew 5:13-16 where Jesus challenges His followers to be as salt and light into the dark world.  I began to thinkabout this Scripture in relation to the new surroundings that I was in. 

As the waiter at this amazing Chicago-style pizza restaurant served us, as I sat beside a young lady on the subway trying to carry on a conversation with a friend on the other side of the car, and as we wheeled our segways around lines of people waiting to get into the aquarium the Lord nudged my heart to the fact that they all have stories.  Each one of them has a past, and whether that past is full of happy memories or horrifying nightmares I will never know.  I was only around these people for mere seconds if that.  Many of them probablydidn't even notice me and didn't care that I was there.  (Most people were trying hard not to notice others or be noticed.)

It is in those situations that I feel like my light seems like a flickering match in a hurricane.  Do they see Him in me?  Am I living the lifestyle that is called for by Jesus so that people can see it?  Being a full time pastor it is easy to "be the light" when at church or comfortably tucked into my Christian bubble.  I pray that God used this weekend to burst that bubble, and spread His love to others through me - even if  only for a second.