I really love my life here in Mijas…
I love sitting at Orange Chair Cafe having a cup of cafe con leche and writing.
I love making dinner for my house when it’s my cooking team’s turn to cook and blessing everyone with (hopefully) delicious meals.
The view next to the Epicentro
I love the view of the Med I see every day on my walk to class.
I love spoiling people on their birthdays with fun surprises, sleepovers or even swanky rental cars.
Sunrise in Mijas
I love waking up early to go see the sunrise with my good friends.
I love being challenged in my thinking and my theology, and being left to ask hard questions and dig out truth for myself.
I love being pushed in my character, confidence and boldness to be obedient and to love well, even when it is really, really hard.
I love being called out on the loving well part when I fall short. Because everyone’s always “Amen. Keep coming.” Just like Jesus.
I am learning to love being in community. Constantly. As in eat, sleep, breath, live, constantly surrounded by other people.
I am learning to embrace the hard stuff. To not shy away from challenges but to embrace them fully and run into them, knowing what’s at risk and saying yes, nevertheless.
I am learning to be a committed person. To break the curse of a noncommittal generation and say YES when God says GO. To say How High? when He says Jump.
I am learning to let my yes be yes and my no be no. If I am not a woman of my word, who am I?
It’s hard but it is so worth it. I see myself growing and changing and falling and getting back up again. Failure is when you fall and don’t get up again. There is room for failure and there is room for grace, but there is not room for staying down and living defeated. There’s not room for living based on emotions or circumstances.
Each of the above statements could (and probably should) be their own blog. Suffice it to say, I am growing.
We’ve been talking in class about the intangibles that make up a person. How success is not defined by the tangible accomplishments but by your character, your personhood, and how well you love and honor God and His kids.
This has been a season of developing the intangibles. I want to be known not for what I do but for who I am–the content of my character, not the color of my skin, my degree, my outside appearance, but the intangibles-am I a person of honor? Of grace? Of love, even when it seems impossible?
There’s a phrase thrown around the World Race a lot–God cares more about your character than your comfort. That is definitely true, though it’s been nice to have this season where physically I have been comfortable and tangibly blessed, to grow in.
I am different. I am a strong, beloved woman of God, a daughter of the King. I know that I know that I know who I am. I am excited for the future and have hope. I have been so blessed and I am excited to pass that blessing onto others.
Thank you for your support and blessings in this season. I know that it is not a traditional missions trip, but your belief in me and my development in character, leadership and personality matters so much. God can use whoever He wants. He cares far more about my character than anything else. Out of my growing, strengthening character, the blessings towards others will flow. Lives are changed because the presence is pouring out of me. It is NOT me, but Him in me, the hope of glory.
Thank you again for your support, encouragement, blessings and celebrations with me. This season has been an amazing one and I am excited about the last month here in Spain. God has been so faithful to give me exactly what I need, to challenge me and make me grow, and to give me choices to live out what I am learning. Thank you. Be blessed.
