Are You Hungry?

Last night I met a dear woman.
In fact, I'll call her Dearly Loved.
Because she is.
Dearly Loved is a guest at the City Rescue Mission and I sat next to her during the chapel service. (I was there "observing" as part of my preparation to become a volunteer speaker for chapel services. I'm super looking forward to sharing hope with those ladies!)
So, anyway, Dearly and I were talking after chapel and she told me about a new discipleship program which is about to begin. Participants in the program will have the opportunity to dig deeply into God's Word, and Dearly reeeeaaaally wants to get into it. I could hear in her voice and see in her eyes a hunger for knowing God and His Word more. And if that weren't enough, the tears she shed because of her uncertainty at being selected would have convinced me of her desire.
So we sat and talked for a while.
Dearly - pouring out her heart, and me - trying to encourage her with Truth.
Oh, she knows God knows what He's doing.
She has a testimony, and she knows HE is good.
Dearly understands that God's timing is not ours, and HE might have a reason for delaying her entry into the discipleship program.
But the tears she kept wiping away spoke loudly of her desire to know God more through His Word.

Her response caused me to wonder, Is my desire as deep?
I am so happy to be in my Precepts class.
I love doing inductive Bible study.
God delights me as He opens my heart to His Word.
But I had to ask myself, Am I taking it for granted???
How many people around the world - in my own community! - only wish they had the opportunity and ability to be satisfied by God's Word?
Oh, I do not think I comprehend how fortunate I am to have His Word - and solid instruction for study - so readily at my fingertips.

LORD, thank You. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for teaching me how to study. Thank You for filling my heart and satisfying my soul as You open my eyes to what You have to say. And please, Lord, please make a way for Dearly to participate in that discipleship program. Please satisfy her hunger to know You more!