I walked into the kitchen with my cup full. I grinned at Tess, drenched her and ran outta there like a fat kid on a diet looking for cake. I knew I was toast. I could hear the howls of my teammates and Moriah stating how proud she was of me…
I was officially not Switzerland anymore. My prank-hood was born.
I ran around the compound, dodging Tess and laughing til it hurt. I thought I’d averted her until SPLASH. From the balcony above, water rained down and soaked me to the core. Expecting to see a fellow squadmate, I was shocked beyond belief to see Seth Jr?! standing there bent over laughing. Our fearless squad leader? Who knew? Apparently we all stepped in our greatness as pranksters that evening…
We are in Nica and absolutely loving it. Our Squad debriefed in Managua. I was sitting on the roof (common theme, I know. There’s just something about God and a roof…) and we began to process what He spoke to me on the sunny island of Roaton.
He challenged me this weekend. He told me if I want to boldly proclaim his love then I have to be boldly vulnerable. Boldness and vulnerability go hand in hand. They are intertwined and complement the other. I don’t speak Christian-ese so God has to shoot me straight.
He also told me to get ready. He said the honeymoon is over but that it's only gonna get better from here. I don’t know how that’s even possible but I’m stinkin stoked to find out what happens. He said we’re starting the rest of my life living out intimacy to the fullest. He told me that like a wife and her husband know each and every quirk about the other, so it will be for me and Him. Our love is covered in this sweet aroma that’s not human. It’s intimacy in its purest form because that’s the gift God granted us when His Son got nailed to a tree.
At debrief I spent days not showering. I literally had streams of dirt winding down my legs and was wearing a tshirt that was so grimey I might just throw it away. I smelled anything but good. As I walk around looking goofy and dirty, I couldn’t have been happier. I relished in His mercy, His tenderness, His love. Half the time my face was so greasy it looked like I rubbed it in a bag of popcorn, but who the heck cares? He loves me for me.
He’s diving into these places of my heart that I didn’t know existed. He’s asking tough questions and its breaking me in half but I’m more alive in dying than I ever was in living. I’ve been mad and confused, felt fiercely loved and ferociously fought for. I’ve depended on Him more than I’ve depended on breathing and I can’t get enough. A friend prayed that though His love is enough, may we never stop hungering for more. I want more. And He’s handing out more like Santa on Christmas morning. It’s crazy good and if this is just a taste of what the rest of our lives look like loving Jesus back then I’m in. Dang, He's so good.
I’m cannonballing into the ocean and splashing around in this crazy thing called love. Sometimes there will be waterfalls that catapult me to the sweet places with Him and sometimes there will be streams that steer into more of His goodness. Both are good and both point me to Him. Intimacy with Jesus is living in it's truest form and it's so stinkin exciting. This was not the life I had planned but it's the life I was destined to live.
