People often describe the World Race as walking straight up a mountain, hands wide open to receive. Many times in my life, I have cried out “Lord, fill me up! I want more of you!” Looking back at it now, I can see how God would sympathetically reply to that prayer by saying “Claudia… there is simply no room.”
A lot about what we talked about at training camp back in July was emptying ourselves of spiritual baggage that we were carrying, and taking time to process through some things we had been holding on to. We all learned how to let go of pieces of ourselves that were holding us back from walking in complete freedom. There, I had emptied some things in myself internally, making more room for God to fill me further.
I believe we can also be spiritually weighed down by the physical things we surround ourselves with. It is so easy to slip into a pattern of filling our lives with some sort of cushion. When we feel empty, we find fillers. We love to surround ourselves with large houses, Netflix binges, comfort foods, and general busyness (to just name a few) to fill a void that we don’t want to admit is there. We often times use these things to fill the holes in our lives that were meant to be filled by The Lord.
Only as I’ve begun my new life in Thailand have I started to realize that this pattern of crafting cushion was apparent in my own life. Living here, I am rid of most things I’ve found to be comfortable. I no longer have hot showers, a closet full of clothes (my sister has those now), a car to drive around in, or even much of a say in what will happen day to day. My family can only be reached by calling them through a screen, and friends I’ve known my whole life seem so distant now.
Life here is simple. I didn’t expect it to be, but it is. We have a lot of down time, very few possessions, an extremely tight budget, and a home that hardly fits all 8 of us that live here. With this new season of life, The Lord has rid me of a lot of the “cushion” I had built up for myself, and it’s been a harder process than I’d anticipated.
As it is a season of being emptied, it is also a season of being filled up. There is so much more room for The Lord to move. His presence is so evident here in the simplicity. My team and I have begun to find the beauty in the minimalism, and to use it as a chance to dive deeper with The Lord. I feel changed, and it’s only week 3. It has given us an opportunity to spend time with Him, and to practice experiencing His presence moment by moment. We’ve created room for Him to work in us, and He has begun to move.
Moving to a third world country to do mission work is certainly not the only way to experience the Father’s love in this way. The Lord wants to fill all of his beloved children (aka you and me) up with more of Him, no matter where we find ourselves! Where have you added filling to your life in areas where God wants to fill you?
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
-Psalm 46:10
Life updates coming soon. Keep praying for myself, my team, our ministry, the city of Klaeng, and the people we come in contact with! Love y’all.
