Guys, I leave the country in 8 days… that is CRAZY! Like this is actually happening— it is no longer a countdown on my phone of just big numbers leading up to something. We are now in the single digits, and on August 7th I will board a plane for the Dominican Republic to start this crazy journey I have been dreaming about since I was a kid.
Obvi, I had to use an Office gif at least once in this post.
Growing up, I went to church on Sunday and participated in Vacation Bible School, Sunday Schools, and most of those normal church activities that kids do, BUT I honestly really struggled to grasp who God really was. As I got older, God revealed himself to me in more intimate and somewhat painful ways— anxiety, depression, parents’ separation/divorce, suicidal thoughts, experimenting with self harm… you start to get my point. A lot of these things that I went through were painful, like really, really painful.
But even in the midst of all this pain, something beautiful was in the making. He was molding and crafting me into the woman I am.
Now, I don’t know if a lot of you know anything about pottery, but pottery is not an easy task (and certainly not an easy job.) Pottery is one of the oldest human inventions and practices throughout history; it is formed by taking a ceramic (often clay) body and modeling it into objects or shapes, like bowls and mugs. It is then put into a kiln at extremely high tempatures to remove all the water from the clay to create a change in the basic structure of the clay. It hardens and becomes stronger as all the water is removed from the base and is hardened by the heat.
Simply put: there are many stages that pottery requires until the final project is finished.
And just like pottery, God is the potter and I am his creation.
I have been through many phases in my life, but I know that God is intricately molding me into the Christ-like woman I am supposed to be, who will one day be REUNITED with Him in heaven. And for real, I AM EXCITED!
Sorry, it wouldn’t be a Julia blog post if I didn’t include an Andy Dwyer gif either.
The reason I include all of this is because leaving the country for 11 months to travel and further his kingdom is a part of the molding process God is doing in my life. So I have to leave. I have to leave because God said yes to many way before I could ever speak, and I am constantly saying YES back to Him.
I was called and told to go. So I am going. I am leaving everything I have to go and seek out God and share the good news with the world, so they too can know Jesus and experience LIFE.
So they can know our God, the potter, and that we are His creation.
“But now, O Lord, You are Our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the word of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
