To Hunger and Thirst...

 For each of us, there is not a day that goes by that we don't want for something.  Our need for water and food are two basics that sustain our body.  Then of course this is love, community, hope, family, and on and on....

Over a decade ago, I spent a year on the streets of Houston talking to homeless youth.  I knew that God had a desire to start a new faith community, but I wanted to find out from those living on the streets what it was that they envisioned a faith community would look like.

I can't begin to share how many hamburgers I purchased that year, and the hours that were spent discussing the stories that each person held.  "If you were to start a church, what would it look like?"

Time and time again, I would hear how some "church" had wounded the person, but yet, the person still longed for community, and ultimately the need to belong.  Through these conversations a faith community, New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) came into existence.  For six years, this faith community would work with these youth, helping to reach out, and to make a difference.

Reaching In and Out Together (R.I.O.T.) would feed over 200 people each week, while Hope Street, a non-profit, would help 18 young people get off the street and gain some kind of technical training, or college degree.

While this community worshiped and helped to change the landscape for many people, we continued to remember that each of us, hungered and thirst.

For each of us, God has a plan, knows our hearts, and everything about us.  What an amazing plan there is for each of us!

Stay in God's grip!
Todd

To Hunger and Thirst

To my God, whom words cannot begin to describe,
You have given to me hunger –
And at the table You have given sweet bread to satisfy me,
When my parched body thirsts –
You pour yourself out to quench my soul.
Can it be that I actually hunger and thirst for you?
Can it be that in each moment of my life You can give to me complete satisfaction?

Living water and Bread of life,
Give us determination in our seeking,
Persistence in walk,
Honesty in our questioning,
So that when we kneel before You
And utter our words to You
Do not allow cloned images to serve as symbols
Of substitute for that which You
Truly have for us.

Help us each day to reflect on
Every word inspired in Scripture –
The cruelty found in the world
And the misery of death, 
The marvel of divine love
And the life found in Christ –
Until our very center spirit that inspires our life
Expands and we begin to understand.

O benevolent God,
The beyond who is among us,
You have given to me hunger –
And at the table You have given sweet bread to satisfy my pain,
When my parched body thirsts –
You pour yourself out to quench my soul.

Help us to live out our lives through our prayers,
Learning to trust You more conscientiously,
And abide with more faithfully.
Then will I discover that my thirsting spirit
Will give way to new growth;
In the times of wondering in life’s wilderness
You will once again provide manna;

In my seeking
I shall find You.
In this time of great revelation
You will possess all of me and reveal Yourself completely,
And at that moment,
I shall truly rest, hunger and thirsting no more.

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2017

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