Last year on January 15th I was flying out of the Seattle airport with a group of 33 people that I barely knew to embark upon what would be the most life-changing four month journey of my life.
So naturally, the past few days since January 15th have been full of reminiscing and reading through old journal posts, and as I have looked back it has been encouraging to be reminded of the path on which the Lord has been leading me over the past 369 days.
In my conversations this week I have found myself saying, “this time last year…” more times than I can count. And I suspect that over the next few months I will probably catch myself making “this time last year” statements fairly often. It’s hard not to reminisce. But beyond simply reading journal entries and looking at photos and videos on my computer, my reminiscing has been a reminder of all that the Lord has done in my life. Looking back at where I was “this time last year,” I can see just how far the Lord has brought me in such a short period of time.
This time last year I was arriving in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, embarking on a four-month journey that would forever change me and redirect the path of my life. This time last year I was scared out of my mind and excited beyond any excitement I had previously experienced.
This time last year I was getting to know a team of five other people who I now call my family…people who I was privileged to live and learn beside and who have shaped me into the person I am today.
This time last year I was cramming four months worth of supplies into a backpack, wondering how on earth I was going to survive with so little, only to return four months later and wonder how I could ever need more than what fits in a 65 liter pack.
This time last year I was saying goodbye to family and friends, unsure of what it would be like to not see them for four months.
This time last year I didn’t know how it felt to hold the hand of a 14-year-old girl who had been recently rescued from sexual slavery.
This time last year I didn’t know what it meant to build a friendship with a woman working in a bar in Thailand, forced to sell her body to support her family.This time last year I didn’t know what it felt like to sit on a bed in a brothel and talk with a woman who knows no alternative to a life of bondage and captivity…a woman with a twinkle in her eyes that I will never forget, because in the midst of the dirtiest, smelliest, most degrading place on earth, she was still able to find joy to get her through. This time last year I was learning what it meant to have my heart break for injustice every single day. This time last year I was learning what it looks like to love the way that God loves. This time last year I was taking the first steps toward becoming the person that I am this time this year.
This time this year I am again embarking on a new journey. I am again stepping out into the unknown. I am putting myself in a position to have my heart broken over and over again, and to continue learning what it means to love others the way that God loves me. I tremble again at the gravity of what I am preparing to do, because once again I don’t fully comprehend what it will be like, or how much it will change me. But I know that the Lord has called me here, and that He has a lot more transformation to do in my life and in the lives of those to whom He is calling me. There are battles to be fought, tears to be cried, hugs to be given, prayers to be prayed, hearts to be restored…and in the end, I know that it will be worth it. Because this time next year, I will be able to look back and recount the Lord’s faithfulness once again.
Three months in Italy… say less!
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This time last year I was cramming four months worth of supplies into a backpack, wondering how on earth I was going to survive with so little, only to return four months later and wonder how I could ever need more than what fits in a 65 liter pack.
This time last year I didn’t know what it felt like to sit on a bed in a brothel and talk with a woman who knows no alternative to a life of bondage and captivity…a woman with a twinkle in her eyes that I will never forget, because in the midst of the dirtiest, smelliest, most degrading place on earth, she was still able to find joy to get her through. This time last year I was learning what it meant to have my heart break for injustice every single day. This time last year I was learning what it looks like to love the way that God loves. This time last year I was taking the first steps toward becoming the person that I am this time this year.
