Hey Fam!
Thank you for the great response on last post about the Camino. I am so glad it has impacted so many. Have you gotten your ticket to Spain yet? I recommend a 30 liter pack and only two sets of clothes. Start hiking hills today.
Anyhow.
We have 30 days left on the Race. 30. Days. Thirty. Days.
That to me, is insane.
Sometimes it felt like this would never end, and honestly now, I don’t want it to.
We have had the trip of a lifetime. We got to experience the world, try new foods, see things that most people never see and some will only dream of. We stayed in places off the beaten path and experienced sides of these countries often untouched by travelers. (I recognize the extreme privilege and honor it is to have been able to do this, and I appreciate everyone who helped it happen.)
More importantly, we encountered people and shared the love of God with some who may never had stepped into a church, and answered prayers of other believers as encouragement in seasons of difficulty.
Most importantly, above all, I sought and found God in a way I never have before, allowing Him to shape me, break walls off of my heart, and transform me more than I ever thought I needed. Pride was exchanged for vulnerability. Self righteousness exchanged for humility. The need for control exchanged for faith and trust. The need for productivity was exchanged for the peace and power of knowing my identity as a daughter, and having Jesus be enough. Reckless independence was exchanged for a true love between me and God. Reckless independence was exchanged for a true love between me and those He gave to me as friends on this journey.
I never thought I needed other people, which translated uphill to I never thought I needed God. People and Him were just something I would choose to be a part of my life, as if they were a luxury instead of a necessity….and easily cut out if the relationships became too problematic. I saw my independence as a badge of honor…. But that badge covered up a wounded heart. Through this community and God moving through it, wounds I’ve carried from the church, from men, and from female friends, even wounds I created myself, have been healed. Wounds that were there for years that I didn’t even recognize are now places I’m empowered by the Holy Spirit to thrive in.
However, ultimately, the MOST most important thing that happened on the Race, and amalgamation of all of the above, is that I have learned to love, be loved, and become love.
That is what this hurting world needs right now….lovers of God who know what it is to be loved by Him.
Right now I don’t know what the next step of my life will be.
I have always had a passion to see the American church transformed and the Bride of Christ purified. I also have a passion for justice, specifically for those people groups marginalized by society and our government. I love nursing and often dream of being back in the ICU, and doing medical outreach in Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. I have also considered going back to school (for a number of various things.) My soul is restless to keep moving and continue this nomad life in the States. I want to live in the bush in Africa and live off of the land. (Safe to say, I’ve got a full deck of cards and each one is a winner.)
Overall, my heart now longs to be in a community like the one I found here….. To exist in a family of believers devoted to the Lord and committed to living by the Word, living ethical and righteous lives as glowing cities on hills…glorifying the One who gives true life.
For the first time, I truly don’t know what my next step will be. I love what Augustine of Hippo said: “Love God, and do what you want.”
If you love God, you will obey Him. If you love God, you will long to hear His voice, and you will long to live in the awareness of His presence. If you love God, you will love people.
There are people all over who need to know the Lord. People all over the world and in your town that He wants to encounter through you. Are you willing? Let’s be willing.
XOXO
