Goodbye 2013
As I sit at the kitchen table in Guatemala, reflecting on everything that has happened this past year, I’m blown away by all the Lord has done: the joys, the sorrows, the ups, the downs, the endless laughter, and the uncontrollable tears.
Goodness, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I brought in 2013 with the Squad Leaders of L squad in Bangkok, Thailand. At that point, I was enjoying my last month with my squad and trying to plan my future.
In the first 28 days of the New Year, I poured everything I knew into 4 incredible leaders, said goodbye to 60 dear friends, and got on a plane solo to Arkansas to surprise my sister… still not knowing what my future held.
By the time I landed in America, though, my nothing had changed to something: Guatemala!
My plans of resting in the states quickly transformed into 3 weeks in 3 states trying to say hello and goodbye all at once. It was pretty much the opposite of rest, and a lot more like chaos.
Then faster than a run away train, I was on a plane with a one-way ticket to Guatemala. The journey the Lord had for me involved an unknown country, several strangers, and a foreign language.
What the HECK?!?
The next 10 months embraced more than I could ever imagine.
At first, I was mad at the Lord for taking me away from my friends, family, and anything that I knew as familiar. But that quickly changed—the strangers became family and the unknown country became a home (although, the language is still foreign to me).
This new home embodied beauty inside and out. Not only did it have beautiful landscapes and breath-taking views around every corner, it also held a peace and joy that is hard to come by.
This home gave me a safe place to sit at the feet of the Lord, to surrender some things I had been holding onto for years, to learn new depths of the Father’s heart, and to walk out what it means to be a daughter of the Most High King.
In the midst of his holiness, the Lord brought people into our lives to share what we were learning. Through the year we have had over 300 people walk through our doors and experience the Father in new ways.
All the while, the Lord provided some fun adventures. In March the team ventured up north to Semuc Champey for a week. In June, I climbed a volcano with my sister and brother-in-law. In July, I met up with my squad in Cape Town, South Africa for Final Debrief. In November, I flew to TN for Thanksgiving. And in December, I experienced my first Guatemalan Christmas filled with fireworks and tamales.
Dang, what a year!
I couldn’t have imagined this would be what 2013 looked like. I think God that His plans are so much better than mine.
