November 2nd, 2016
This ones for you. For the strong and the beautiful and the slightly exhausted. The one who wakes up every day and prays for strength because the battle is hard. The girl who, for years, fought against lies and held onto truth like a shield. Who found the Pearl of Great Price but lost it in the couch cushions again and again. This is for you, brave, beautiful, and a lil bloody.
For years you lived in fear. You wore it like a tattered sweater that obviously didn’t fit you anymore, but it was comfortable, so you continued to put it on. Until one day you were sick and tired of feeling used and abused and putting on the tattered, too small jacket of fear. So you took a step of faith and yes to living a life of Victory. You bought a plane ticket and went to a land far-far away. You stopped just reading about adventures and started actually living them.
Hello my old heart. It’s been a while. When you look in the mirror now, do you recognize yourself? Do you see the change in your face? Look at your eyes and see how they shine brighter. Look at your mouth and see how it smiles wider. How your heart wakes up every day filled to the brim ready to slosh over with love. You found your life when you laid it down.
This journey is only a few months in, but from the outside looking in you wouldn’t believe it. The Lord has opened my eyes to a world that doesn’t know Him. He’s allowed my heart to break for the lost and lonely, and He’s allowed my story to be used as a powerful tool instead of a shameful scar. He’s made my messes matter and this chaos count. He turned my fractures into stained glass. And I’m singin hallelujah up and down the aisle. I’m about to hop on a plane and head over to Asia next week, but I’m going to miss Africa so much. I’ve fallen in love with people from all different cultures, backgrounds, and races. I’ve seen the glory of God reflected in a thousand different ways, in hearts and stories and drum beats and gogo’s and languages. If there’s any thing to take away from these past few months, it’s that I’m convinced Heaven will look a whole lot more colorful and diverse than we could ever imagine!!
So I propose a toast: to fists unraveling, to messy mosaics, to saying yes, to home away from Home, and to being a foreigner in a temporary land. Hallelujah, for He who carries us is faithful!
