Hello faithful, dearly appreciated supporters! This blog post is coming to you from the good ole USA! I would like to point out that I was right in my last blog: Argentina and Pennsylvania look identical. Just saying.
(Photo Credit: Emily Mills)
I AM HOME!
There are so many emotions wrapped up in this gift. In so many ways, I could not be more thankful to come home around the holidays. I saw much of my extended family at Thanksgiving, have spent precious time with my sister, visited some beloved supporters, and in December enjoyed the gift of rest.
On the other hand, my transition home has been an . . . adventure, in itself. I have had sweet moments where my growth is evident, and disappointing moments of relapse into old habits. For example, rather than always stewarding the time and opportunities to rest that December afforded me, I often found myself planning my next 20 steps instead. Rather than continuing to walk successfully in the peace I fought to gain this year, I have often found my soul riddled with anxieties.
And here’s what I learned:
Every thing I gained this year, I gained in Christ; every victory I won, I won in Christ; every fruit of the Spirit I exemplified, I exemplified because I was abiding in Christ.
Moments of “relapse” do not negate the growth and change I gained this year. That is a lie.
I had an image after coming home of me standing fully clothed in the armor of Christ, ready for battle, but the Enemy was playing mind games with me. He was trying to convince me that I wasn’t actually wearing any of that armor. Ridiculous! And yet, I was allowing him to persuade me.
One moment of weakness cannot undo all that God has done in me.
On the other hand, what is the point of my growth if I am not going to continue depending on and abiding in God moving forward? The minute I stop finding my strength in the Almighty, I will fail, no matter how much I changed these past 11 months.
Growth, change, victory … they are all born in Christ Jesus. I will only continue to walk in these things as I abide in Him.
The bottom line is, I honestly am uncertain how to process this transition home. The holidays made everything exciting, but now that they are ending, I anticipate that everything will finally hit me. Fortunately, I am surrounded by family and friends in this season!
It is important to me that I share some of the most prominent lessons I have learned from the Race! I do not intend to make this lengthy, but this is the summary of my most treasured insights from an entire 11 months, so please bear with me!
I pray earnestly that these 11 insights will impact you in eternal ways as they have me!
Lessons about God
1. There is not a single country, culture, town, or person that God is not faithfully pursuing with the good news of His mercy and grace in Jesus. His command to go and make disciples of all nations is for real, and it is being lived out right now. I know the names and stories of faithful servants that God sent to share the gospel in Africa, Asia and South America. I have seen the gospel change lives in huge cities like Bangkok, the bush of Africa, and tiny farm towns in Argentina. I have seen Him use foreign missionaries and native missionaries. God’s love transcends culture.
2. God wants my life to be an adventure of exploring Him. My journey in delving deeper into relationship with God far surpasses my adventures at Victoria Falls or Angkor Wat. I started spending time with Him more creatively, and it caused my relationship with the living God to actually feel real!
3. Sharing the gospel is ALWAYS worth the risk. I do not regret a single time I told someone about Jesus. What I regret is not doing it even more boldly, and seizing even more opportunities to do it.
4. Bold, specific prayers exalt God and deepen faith. I saw Him answer so many of these this year, and because they were so specific, I could always point to God as the reason they were answered!
5. Fighting with God is a sign of intimacy. It is normal and permissible to be angry with God. He wants our honesty, our hearts laid bare before Him. It is not okay to stay stuck in anger, but a willingness to be raw with God builds a trust that will deepen our intimacy with Him.
6. Testimonies of God’s faithfulness are not always come by easily. Just about any story I could share from this year would reveal a foundation of suffering, hard work, or sacrifice. But the testimony is always full of adoration of the God who works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
Lessons about Myself
6. To grow in a fruit of the Spirit, such as joy or peace, I will not gain success by concentrating all of my efforts on exemplifying that fruit. The only way to bear the fruit of the Spirit is to abide in Christ – focus on the source, rather than the fruit itself.
7. My faith is seriously lacking in longevity and resilience. I am far too quick to throw my hands up in defeat and forget Who fights my battles.
8. Complaining will never sow a spirit of gratitude. On the days where I was more prone to complain, I was also more focused on the future (AKA, going home) and more miserable in the moment.
Lessons about Ministry
9. Ministry is far less about how I desire to serve than it is about how I am needed to serve. The list of things I did this year that I would never choose to do otherwise is far longer than the list I actually desired to do. But this year was about showing up and being obedient, shining the light of Christ no matter the task. And it was about the incredible people we were serving. This is just as true in the United States.
Lessons about Community
10. Truth, spoken in love, will set you free. I experienced something this year that should have been normal but was new to me: speaking the truth in love, frequently, to my brothers and sisters. It was an expectation for teams on the Race to love each other enough to speak truth in the forms of encouragement and in pointing out areas needing growth. Some of my most significant growth on the Race resulted from feedback that someone lovingly shared with me so I could become more like Christ.
11. As sons and daughters of the one true God, indwelt by His Spirit, we carry authority. Our faith can move mountains. The words we speak unleash power, for good or evil. The unified body of Christ can literally turn this world upside-down. We need to start living out our true identity in Christ, like we mean it, here in the United States.
There is so much more that I could share with you, and hopefully I will get to tell many of you more about this year in person! But for now, this is what the Lord laid on my heart to share from this year of serving Him.
I love you all and am deeply thankful for all of the support you have shown me this year. I never could have gone without you. Thank you for being a part of my journey and enabling it to happen!
Your sister in Christ, Ash
