welcome to december friends & fam!
the past few months, & especially the past couple weeks, have been a lil crazy to say the least. my own heart has felt heavy on numerous occasions, but also has been home to SO much fullness and love. it’s a tension i’ve been learning how to better hold and steward. a “both and” kinda situation, as our mentor kate likes to say. & it’s definitely a tricky line to walk, mourning & rejoicing, but it’s something i fully believe we are called to.
i should probably give you a bit more context on what life has looked like, so here’s the breakdown (just for you:)! my old team and i decided to come to arkansas for thanksgiving break, intending to rest and safely live it up in little rock during our last time together as a formal team (we are stepping into new, bigger teams for the ease of ministry in guatemala). after a couple days here, we found out our squad had some direct exposure to the dreaded ‘rona. yikes i know. so we went into quarantine and got tested. fast forward another two days & we found out 2/4 team members had the ‘rona. double yikes. anywhos i’ve been in the safety of quarantine in arkansas with lots of espresso and distanced picnics & get to return home in a weekish. & also our christmas break got extended!
all that to say that God has been meeting me here in some pretty rad ways. jesus has been in the middle of the mess & He’s been there for wayyyy long guys. & as we enter into the advent season i’ve been reminded of His presence on earth. being inconvenienced is often the cost of loving people & i can’t imagine that being any truer than Jesus coming to us as He did. He turned fully human, fully flesh, just for us. lately i’ve just been sitting on that as i consider the proclamation of this joyous news.
His heart was pure and true, and yet He lived in our broken fallen world. i’ve just been over here trying to imagine what that was like. how painful was it? how strange and against the grain did it seem to those around Him? was He ticklish? what did choosing-in every day look like for Him?
the details interest me to no end, but really all we have to understand is that He is with us. wherever and whenever we choose to sit in His presence. my heart has been steeped in jesus, & i pray that you let yours be filled with His presence as well. He chose us to love friends! & we simply get to receive that & wonder at His glory.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” (2 Corinthians 4v16-17)
much much love,
erika
