“When the truth finally sinks in that we are each a miracle, a life-giver,and influencer all at once, our roots will anchor firm, never to be uprooted by tribulation, but only reaching deeper as we reach higher.” -Sarah dubbeldam (Darling Magazine)
The fears that try and root themselves in my soul are often times easier to remember and think about. They come in like nasty weeds and try and choke out the beautiful deeply rooted “truth plants” that God has been watering for years. The fears aren’t even cute dandelion weeds that you don’t mind being there; they are the nasty prickly ones that most of the human population tries to avoid. However here is the first beautiful truth that will not be uprooted or killed: God has already won, and His truth plant in my life is here to stay for all eternity.
Intertwined in this blog are going to be core truths of my being. Things that I hold on to for dear life. Life giving, soul mending truths. Some of them will be truths that are often times forgotten until I’m in desperate need of them and God so graciously reminds me. Some will be truths i’ve known and loved since my relationship with God began, and some of these truths might be heart breaking, hard-to-deal-with truths.
Since my walk with Jesus began i’ve had a burning desire to be a missionary. It started with wanting to go to Africa, then Mexico, then Costa Rica, then Utah, and now Asia and Europe are being mixed in. Some of those desires’ purpose was to open my heart to what God was really calling me to. I haven’t been to all those places, but man am I oh so passionate about all of them for different reasons! I’ve known for almost 10 years of my life that I was meant to go to the nations. The truth is, i’ve been called to be a missionary! How exciting! My missionary life doesn’t start when I leave in January, though. It started ten years ago when I accepted The Lord. Salem is just as much a mission field as Africa. (That last sentence wasn’t learned as fast as I would have liked, but that’s a whole different blog;) )
I am forgiven. I am forgiven and set free. This is one of those that i’ve loved and hung on to since my relationship with God began. How sweet is the freedom that I get to walk in?! It’s incredible and still gives me chills. His grace is enough to cover all my sins and make me WHITE AS SNOW. He see’s me as pure. I am His beloved. Is it always easy to believe? If i’m honest, no. I have moments when I look up at a starry sky with tears running down my face and whisper “How do you still love me so perfectly?!” but it’s in those moments that this truth is whispered to my soul ever so gently. It’s my favorite. His grace is my favorite.
I am not forgotten. God remembers me. He knows me and He loves me the same. I spend so much of my life nurturing the “orphaned spirit”. I let myself believe that no one cared and that I was not worth remembering for years. It took a really long time to accept this truth, and now I don’t know what I would do without it. I am not forgotten, and whoever is reading this, neither are you.
As long as I keep waking up in the morning asking God to break my heart for what breaks His, there is alway going something that breaks my heart. We live in a broken world that needs the love of Jesus and when my heart is not numb to that truth it’s often times hurting. I wish that I could adequately describe what this hurt looks like, but i’m not sure I know how. It just..hurts. But it reminds me that everyone is worth it. The hard customers at work, the guy who cut me off in traffic, my pastors and friends, my family, the person I walk next to on the sidewalk downtown and the homeless person who no one wants to look at. Everyone is worth it. God’s heart is broken for them.
God is rocking my world now, and he will continue to rock my world when I’m gone on the world race. Everything in life is seemingly uncertain right now. It’s a period of long transition, new friendships blossoming, old friendships becoming more and more distant, people I love most moving away, long Skype dates, lots of tears but also so many joyful joyful joyful moments that I will never forget. Life is cray cray bananas but the constant is God. Literally everything is going to change. My clothes, the country I live in, how I communicate with my best friends, the food I eat, the language I hear.. almost everything. It’s crazy, but it’s the journey i’ve signed up for. It’s the journey that God has set a fire in my heart for which is crazy in and of itself! So shout-out to God who is my truth. He IS the truth that sets me free. And shout-out to my best friends and family who are all so ready to follow me all around the world. It isn’t going to be easy, but thank you for understanding that now. I’m beyond blessed.
Until next time,
Ariah Lynn Leemrey Limed
{Thank you to all those who have been praying for me! And thank you to those who have given financially! You are blessing me more than you’ll ever know! If you’d like to partner with me financially you can give online through this very blog! The link is on the left of this page! All you have to do is click the “support me” tab! Love you all!}
