(Our team sent out a lantern with all the things we hope to live out this year written on it! Here’s to a fantastic 2016!)
As we say goodbye to the land of smiles, we leave all the things we’ve grown accustomed to – raised sidewalks, songthaews and tuk-tuks, personal shrines on every corner, Thai iced teas at any cafe, ferrel dogs roaming the streets, night markets with excellent food and beautiful wares, roti, and driving on the left side of the road!
It’s bittersweet to be leaving… It was here in Chiang Mai that we all bonded together as a squad, where we learned more about who we are and what God has for us, and began our first ministry on the Race! I’m eager to see all that God does in and through us this year! By the end, I know we won’t be the same!
At one of the sessions during Training Camp, one of our mentors talked about the Remembrance Stones (also known as Ebenezers) the nation of Israel would erect after God taught them some great lesson or moved on their behalf. Israel would take stones in the area and basically build an altar or small tower as a physical reminder of God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Throughout this month, God has been reiterating who He is and who I am to Him. Since before the Race, I struggled with a lot of fear… Fear about the unknown future, fear that God was not enough, fear of what other people think of me, fear that I’m not enough or can’t handle things…. Fear.
Well, God has been reminding me that He is enough and in Him, I am enough! One word that keeps coming to mind is confidence…. He is my Confidence... As Jeremiah 17:7-8 says:
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
So, I have made a remembrance stone to remind me of where my identity, confidence, hope, security, and freedom comes from… God, through Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. So, here is my remembrance stone… a new tattoo!
Praise God for His goodness and blessings in my life and for calling me His child! Thank you all for your continued support and I look forward to sharing more with you about this amazing journey called LIFE!
