Thoughts of leaving Dayton

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers,
And sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load.

 On my last night in Ohio, I went to church to help with the ESL summer club. As I drove to church, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle and it played this song. Preparing to leave the country and go to the missions field and to seminary has involved a lot of planning, thinking, and work. I've also tried really hard to finish well in Dayton. As this song played, I felt called to reflect on what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. A lot of people have told me that they are proud of me, that they will miss me, and that I have been really useful here. Receiving these complements hasn't been easy. There's a sense of fear that I am taking credit for God's work, the feeling that I have shown people good works but not God's works. I also fear that I may believe that these works are what saves me or how I am made acceptable to God. Listening to this song and believing what the verses say helps dispel that feeling and gives me an idea of how to pray. As I strike out on this new adventure, I need to remember this lesson. The final verse of the song says:

I praise the God of grace,
I trust His truth and might
He calls me His, I call Him mine,
My God, my joy, my light
’Tis He Who saveth me,
And freely pardon gives
I love because
He loveth me,
I live because He lives!

Lyrics can be found here.