Dear London, (Part 11)
With Alvin Chang
Home is where the heart is. So I thank you for warmly welcoming me into your arms and taking me in for a fresh start the last 16 months. I’ve lived all across the States – growing up in the heartland of America in Iowa that took me to the LA on the West Coast to the Big Apple in NYC on the East. So I’ve experienced a lot of differences but this is where I now call home and this is where my heart is. Like most ex-pats, I’m not sure how long this will last – visas, jobs, relationships, family, health – all will play a factor in how long I’m here, but yet, home is where the heart is and I’m proud to call you my home.
I look around in a city that has so much diversity and so many cultures represented that I sometimes wonder how we can all get along and co-exist. But you see us London, and you love us.
From the
Head-phone wearing commuter on the way to work, you see us and you love us
The bus drivers and school teachers, you see us and you love us
The single mothers or divorced adults, you see us and you love us
Addicts and the homeless, you see us and you love us
Broken or unloved teenagers, you see us and you love us
6'5 blue eyed guys in finance wearing a gilet, you see us and you love us
Even the passionate football hooligans that cheer on Tottenham (not the sophisticated, erudite fans of Arsenal or the Springbok Supporter!), you see us and you love us
So is this a slice of heaven? No, it’s just London but I’m proud to call you my home
Is it perfect? No, but I’m proud to call you my home
London, you see us BUT does everyone feel seen?!
I’ve been lucky enough to get plugged into this beautiful community of C3 and build friendships with some amazing people, so I feel right at home.
So my prayer today is for those that don’t have the warm and fuzzies of the city that I do. I pray for those that may not have the optimism and lens that I do when I look out across the Thames – that this is a home and where my heart is.
I pray for those that are in need and struggling physically with sickness or loved ones that are in pain.
I pray for those in tough situations and trying to figure out how to pay their bills at the end of the month.
I pray for those that feel invisible, that we see you and we love you.
I pray for those that are searching, that they find you and embrace you.
I pray this because I know that God is alive in this place and He is good no matter what. I pray this knowing that He is working, even though it may not always be seen or felt by others.
I pray that a wave of the Holy Spirit floods the city and that there can be light where there is darkness.
I pray for our community. That God’s goodness and peace can be shown IN us and THROUGH us so that love can prevail and London becomes even more so a slice of Heaven.
Home is where the heart is and I pray for Londoner’s hearts to find a home in Jesus
Join us in church this Sunday in Parsons Green. Click here for info and to see what’s coming up this month.