The last two weeks I have been serving and living in Lajas de Yaroa, Dominican Republic. I’ve been able to experience God’s unexplainable peace, joy, restoration, healing, and goodness. Before ministry begins for the day I’ve enjoyed sweet quiet times where I simply sit still and rest in His presence.
There is a spot in particular that is my “go to” that just gives me life. It is on a cement roof that faces beautiful mountain ranges. The elevation of each mountain range increases as it moves further away in the horizon creating almost like a wall gradient of mountains. Nearer to the cement roof are palm trees that are constantly visited by singing birds that fly back and forth as they work together to intricately weave their new home. It is absolutely beautiful!
[That cement corner, on the bottom right, is where I sit :)]
I was reading through a devotional called “Listening Prayer” one morning. The day’s topic was about serving God with a whole heart. As I sat there, the Lord brought it to my attention that I had a divided heart. A heart that sometimes believes in the Lord, His Power, His sovereignty, His realness, His ability to heal, save and speak… But raging war is this other side that constantly questions and wonders if He is real, if He is powerful, if He can heal, if He can do miracles, if He does speak through the wind…
As I sat on the cement roof one morning, I discovered the tone that I want for this next year. I want this year to be one where I am not afraid to pray what seem impossible prayers and fully believe that I will see Him answer them. I have asked for 100% faith and I have a feeling that God has a lot in store for me.
He has called me (well all of us) to seek Him with my (our) whole heart. This year my desire is to live undivided, fully believing that God is capable of ALL things.
Healing my Knee:
It was funny because a few days after this… God gave me an opportunity to exercise faith. I was sleeping in our room, which is composed of 11 bunk beds crammed together in one room. I sleep on a top bunk that is about 6 feet above the concrete floor.
One night (around 3:30 am) I was in deep sleep and turned over when in the next moment I feel like I am falling and then BOOOM! (YES, I FELL OFF THE BED! In a room with 19 girls! Hahahaha. How embarrassing! Guess you’re never too old for that). My team leader who sleeps underneath me screamed as she felt and heard me go down. The other girls were startled awake by: my team leader’s scream, the chatters as everyone tried to figure out what happened and if I was okay, or the large thump they heard when my body crashed the ground (my squad told me the entire room shook… I blame all the rice I’ve been eating, hahaha.)
Most of my weight ended up being carried by my knees & after all the commotion and the rush of adrenaline subsided, the pain in my knees kicked in full throttle.
Side note: It is incredible that after that fall all I have are two bruised knees! Praise the Lord! God truly kept me safe! He provided a backpack for my head to land on instead of it slamming on the cement floor. He also kept my body from ramming into the bunk bed framings on either side of me.
[I fell from the bed that has the clothesline (I have since then moved to a bottom bunk, hahaha) and my head landed on the purple backpack on the floor in between the two bunks.]
[Here is a current picture of the wound, which is about a week old, of one of my knees; it’s healing!]
I couldn’t sleep and if y’all don’t know, I hate pills so I refused to take painkillers. I told my teammate Kirsten & she prayed over my knees.
But the pain pressed on.
Then I decided to pray!
I prayed that:
- I would be able to fall asleep.
- That God would remove the pain.
- And that this incident would not keep me from being able to do ministry with the kids.
The response:
- I fell asleep!
- When I woke up, I did not feel anything. I began to move my legs to see if I could feel pain, NOTHING. I got up and sat crisscross-apple sauce and there was no pain. So then I got off the bed and began to jump up and down, NOT A HINT OF PAIN! AHHHH-MAZING! I was just floored (Ha!) God had healed me 🙂
- Later on that day I began to feel pain again & I still have the scar/bruises, which are slowly recovering, but I was able to continue serving and do all the things I needed and wanted to do in and outside of ministry!
Isn’t He good? Won’t He do it? This is just the beginning guys. He has so much in store & I can’t wait to live this adventure with Him:)
My prayer:
Lord, this year, lead me to live a life that is undivided. When reason wants to question your power help me combat those doubts with the Truth about your character and might. Thank you for teaching me this lesson on that wonderful spot on the roof; you blow me away.
