Well, I am officially back on U.S. soil! It has been good to be home. It has been good for my heart to be around the ones I love most and to share life with them again. I’ve so enjoyed going back to my home and church and hugging the necks of the people who supported me, prayed for me and encouraged me over the past 11 months. Thank you for your continued support and prayers while I’ve been home. Thank you for reading this blog now and for your continued interest in this journey. I hope that you have had a journey of your own through my World Race travels. Even though you may not have been on the field with me physically, you were there and you took this journey with me. Thank you!
I would like to share with you some of the things the Lord has taught me recently, what the last leg of my journey was like, what He showed me before I came home, and what the journey of coming back to America has been like and what the Lord is leading me to in the next season(s) to come.
Upon coming to Europe and the last leg of our journey, I had a small freak out when I realized, “We only have four months left, FOUR! I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I go home!” He had been speaking things to me and leading me down a new path, but I had no idea what to do with it. I started making plans, looking at possible options. I was trying to keep it cool, but on the inside my heart was so entangled. Then, one day I was sitting outside praying and reading my bible and He showed me a verse in Proverbs 16:9 that says,
“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”
Then, entangled mess in my heart came back to the simplicity of Jesus. What He spoke to me in this verse was, “You can make plans, but I get you there. I determine and direct your steps. You don’t have to figure this out, I already have it done. Relax and let go, child.”
This has been what I have repeated to myself since coming home. I’m still not sure where He’ll lead me next, but I know He’s got it. He is faithful. He has never failed me. He won’t fail me in coming home. He has a plan and He determines my steps. Wherever He leads me, I’ll follow Him.
The next month, in Romania, there were still no answers in what I was supposed to do with my life, but the peace God had planted in my heart remained. One day, during an exercise we did as a team, the Lord spoke to me and said, “You’ve been seeking your purpose first. Seek me first and I’ll lead you to your purpose.” Once again, He spoke so simply to me. He reminded of the verse in Matthew 6:33
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Knowing that, changed the way I prayed and spent time with God. It wasn’t about what I supposed to do, or what I would do when I got home, It just became a time to seek Him and to know Him more intimately.
Then, later that month, the Lord clarified everything for me. He told me my purpose. He Brought all of my passions and spiritual gifts together to fit a need in His Kingdom. He showed me this through relationships from my past, current ones, and the conversations I’d had with team mates about my desires and dreams. Through a sermon I listened to, He showed me the difference between what I’m called to and what He has purposed me for. I don’t understand it fully, but I trust what He has told me.
Doubt has a tortuous way of creeping in to steal the fruit of the seeds planted in faith. I’m not saying doubt doesn’t find its way in sometimes to entertain the indentations of my heart and imagination. Sometimes it’s easier to doubt, than to believe in faith. But, I am confident in what God has told me and He is faithful to complete the tasks He assigns. He is faithful when I am fickle and He is solid when I am unsteady.
In Moldova He spoke to me about rest. It’s something we all need but can’t seem to get enough of. It’s life giving. It was the first thing God and man did after the Creator had finished his masterpiece in Adam, and yet we seek its medicine from every quick fix we can find instead of being satisfied by the Source. In our busy, modern American culture it has become something that, unfortunately, not many of us place any investments in. We are running on empty when there is an endless supply at our fingertips. There is more to this life than running from empty well to empty well, God wants to take us from glory to glory and strength to strength.
What God spoke to me in Moldova has prepared me for coming home. He showed me through Scripture, that I can rest in His promises. In Acts 12, Peter was in prison. The night before he was to be executed, an angel came into his cell, broke off his chains and lead him out of prison. The most interesting thing that stood out to me in verse 12:6 said, “The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two guards…” He was going to be executed the next day, and he was sleeping. He could rest because Jesus had told him in John 21:18 that he would live to be an old man. He knew his path and what Jesus had spoken to him and he was able to rest in the promises and truths Jesus said.
Finishing the World Race journey in Ukraine He showed me that there is still more that He has. We walk in and out of seasons throughout our lives. We must leave chapters to move on to what is ahead in the next. It can feel like sad, and that’s ok, but we must move forward because God always has more for us.
Our lives are one big odyssey. Like any good story, it’s full of victories and triumph, defeat and failures. The World Race has been but one adventure of many. He calls us all to expedition, to explore and to live in wonder as we wander. Our life is a great promenade to the song He is singing and all He asks is that we take His hand as we go. We are not meant to roam aimlessly, but to go with the great Author as He writes us a grand story of pilgrimage, freedom and love.
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” –
Psalm 84:5
So, here’s to a life of pilgrimage. As He uncovers my calling and the path He has made for me, I will follow Him. May you also set your heart to pilgrimage and find His strength along the way.
XXX
