At 2:21 a.m on Tuesday October 26 I went to the Emergency room in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. Feeling excruciating pain in my left kidney and unable to use the bathroom, it was time to take action. After arriving in the ER I was reminded again “I am no longer in America.” The hospital was very nice (to my surprise) but it was not the place I wanted to be. I was feeling a surge of emotions in addition to the obvious pain-I was feeling homesick, worried, scared and frustrated.
God explains in the Bible that there will be times of trails and that in those times we are to still be joyful…well I can tell you one thing, I definitely did not feel joyful about having a kidney stone blocking the urine from passing into my bladder, until tonight. A good friend of mine reminded me that I have been praying for a more intimate relationship with God but I wasn’t really sure how to get that or what it looked like. I am sick and I do believe that my team is under some spiritual attack but I also believe that God will and does use sickness, trials and tribulations to bring us into deeper connection with Him. To have us fully rely on Him and to essentially realize we cannot do anything without Him. To let ourselves go and trust that He is holding everything in His mighty hands.
Ephesians 6:10-17 says,
In the past few days these verses have become a reality for me. A reality that we are in a constant battle and that we should not be naive to that battle but rather be very aware of the devil’s schemes to bring us out of what God has called us to do or where He has called us to be. So in my current situation I am pressing into the presence of God deeper, knowing that I can only rely on Him to bring me through trails and tribulations victoriously.
