Love Never Quits - Amy Clark
When I was first asked to write for Beautiful Journal, I thought I had nothing to put pen to paper (or keyboard to computer). Not that I had nothing in my heart, but that I just couldn’t seem to find the words to accurately articulate what’s been going on in there. Many suggestions were made to write on moving to Cambodia, living in a foreign country, in a culture so different from where I’m from, to writing about single life, or even lifestyle (and if you know me, you know lifestyle just really is not my thing hah!). There is a plethora of topics to choose from, but for me, the only thing I can write about is me and God, and God and people.
See, what I’ve come to realise is that nothing in this world is as important as the love God has for you and I, and our shared love for Him. When you truly look into the eyes of our King and see His unfailing love, burning compassion, and incomprehensible grace… everything else just fades away.
People have asked me, “Why did you move to Cambodia?”, and to be honest, I didn’t really think about it. All I knew was that I was so wildly in love with God, that when He asked, I had to say yes. It’s this kind of love that drew me into this committed relationship with Jesus, which had to be expressed in a loud cry of obedience.
Cambodia was my home for almost three years, now I am back in Perth, but let me tell you, those three years have been the hardest yet most fulfilling years of my life. I am not the woman I was. I’ve been challenged, pruned, stretched, twisted, and pulled. There were moments in the journey where I’ve collapsed on the floor in tears, with every ounce of me wanting to pack my bags and come back to the comfort of Perth. Let’s be real, anything worth fighting for will bring you to at least 1... or 100, of these moments. But that’s just the thing, it was all worth fighting for!
Through all the countless nights bent over with cramps from food poisoning, to pushing my scooter through knee-deep flood waters, to battling the attack of the cockroaches… all of it was worth it because I had something to fight for. Cambodia is worth fighting for, people are worth fighting for, God is worth fighting for, His truth and justice is worth fighting for, the life of the child running barefoot down the street is worth fighting for. So, in those moments where I felt like I got to the end of myself, I reached out just that little bit more and found God. The end of me, is the beginning of Him. In the end of me, the fleshy part of me, I found that God’s love is more than just a feeling.
I realised that love is putting others before self, it’s perseverance through the challenges, it’s being willing to ache over what pains the heart of God, it’s a silent strength in the raging seas, and it’s an unwavering commitment that cannot be shaken.
I am blessed to be the recipient of such love, without which I am nothing. With this love, I am stirred to build a home for the lost and use every gift I have been given for the benefit of the people around me, bringing glory to the name of Jesus.
I don’t know where your journey has taken you, but let me encourage you to never quit loving God and His people, because He has never quit loving you. You may feel like your step of obedience has brought you into the most challenging situations. You may even cry out and ask, “God, where are you!?”. But let me assure you, He is with you. Every moment you stand up, every moment you continue to pray, to worship, to praise… every moment you keep stepping forward, even though sometimes it feels like you’re being knocked back, every moment you keep going, you get that little bit stronger. Keep your eyes on Jesus, keep moving, and you will see that there are abundant blessings and joy in your perseverance.
Let the love of God be your reason, and your love for others be your response.
I pray this for you and for me, because in the end we are still human and some days the flesh rears its ugly head. On these days, we grab a double shot flat white, a block of Dairy Milk chocolate, and thank God for His wonderful grace.
“Thank God because he’s good, because his love never quits. Tell the world, Israel, “His love never quits.” And you, clan of Aaron, tell the world, “His love never quits.” And you who fear God, join in, “His love never quits.”” - Psalm 118:1-4 (MSG)
Written by Amy Clark
Amy Clark is one of our beautiful ladies living in Perth and is on the Kingdomcity Team.