I woke up this morning to a fresh, cool rain pouring down. After all the heat we've been experiencing, it was so welcomed. It brought a sense of sorrow though, a feeling of mourning. It felt like the rain was washing away bits and peices of my past life. It reminded me of a verse my Grandma wrote in the bible she gave me for this trip – "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing." Isaiah 43:18
And that is what God is doing here. He is giving me a new life – an amazing one. While my past is marked with pain, I have the confidence that greater things are yet to come. My life has taken such a major turn and it has been hard to let that go, to allow God to write me a different story than I expected. This morning as I allowed the old to be washed away, I realized that God has given me something better. He is an expert at making beauty from ashes. And I'm excited for this new adventure. I know without a doubt that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
I'm so thankful that it's never too late to start anew. My story doesn't end with a broken heart, broken marriage vows, or a broken spirit. That was only a chapter of my life. And I don't think I'd be where I am today without having that chapter in my story. I know that this won't be the only painful thing I experience in my life. But for now, I'm going to celebrate this time in my life where each day brings more healing, more joy, more laughter, more love, more growth. God has turned my mourning into dancing, just as He promised.
I'm thankful that my new beginning is here on The World Race. I'm thankful that I'm here in beautiful Moldova. I'm SOOOO thankful for the team of women that I get to work alongside with.
I feel more alive than I've ever felt in my life. And I give God all the credit for that. Without Him, I probably would have allowed bitterness and resentment to overtake and harden my heart. I would have continued to believe the lies that were spoken to me – that I wasn't enough. With Him, I am able to see the joy that comes with redemption, with having freedom from the past and moving forward to a better future. And it's not just my future that I'm excited about living, it's also the life I'm living right now!
