now that i am in asia, i have been reflecting a lot on what all i have learned about myself, the Father, and His people while being in central america.
here is a raw list of a few of those things. i keep them quite vague, so if you have questions on any in particular, feel free to reach out to me and i would love to chat more on these topics!
enjoy 🙂
1. sometimes it takes stripping yourself of your comforts to really learn something about yourself.
– i am on a journey of learning about myself and the God that i serve. that is what the race is. it really has amazed me how much i have learned in such a short time, and the fact that it took stripping me of my friends, family, dog, own bed, normal foods, and the list could on forever, in order for me to learn these things.
2. for many many years, i have hidden from my emotions.
-emotions are not things that i like to face, but God gives us emotions. he wants us to experience these things with Him. i have found that i hide from my emotions behind humor and sarcasm. this, i have learned, is not healthy. my sweet Father is continuing to walk me through healing from this.
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AMAZING AND A HUGE PART OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
-for some reason, the Holy Spirit is not talked about much in the American church. i honestly was not that familiar with who or what His part of my relationship with the Lord was like, but hot dang it is crucial.
4. God breaks us down in order to build us up.
-we are humans; humans are very flawed creatures. God wants to mold us into new creations that look more like Himself. in order to do that, He must break us down and completely wreck our worlds, then build us back up into something even more amazing.
5. there is so much beauty in brokenness.
-there are many times that i have sat in tears, completely broken by the Lord and completely OKAY with it. being broken is part of walking with the Father. it is so hard, but so beautiful.
6. God just wants us to BE.
– i found myself searching for the Lord in month two by doing all these things – by having the right length of quiet time, by doing the right kind of quiet time, by praying enough or doing enough. this is not how God wants his relationship with us!!! He wants us to show up to the quiet place where we know we will meet Him, and expect just that – that He is going to meet us in that place. we need not to do anything more, just show up. just be. He is there and He is waiting for US. it’s so simple, but made so complicated.
7. JOY JOY JOY!!!
–this is something that is a choice, but when you choose it, it is a beautiful thing. i practiced choosing joy in month three and BOY it was amazing! i found joy in spending time with the Father, in getting to know His people, and in turn, people saw it in me. when people see joy, they see the Father. i am myself the most when i choose to live through joy.
8. people are created for relationship
– this is another thing i learned in month three. i was sick with a parasite and i realized how much i was craving relationship with someone, anyone. i was alone in my bed for three days, completely miserable. i made the intentional decision to pursue relationships the rest of the month. i created some of the most pure, beautiful, and God-ordained relationships because of this.
9. laughter, humor, and love are universal
–some of you are saying “duuuuh”. but have you tried making relationships despite a language barrier? all you have to do is show someone you love them, make them laugh, or make a joke that you both might understand through gestures. laughing with someone, loving on someone, serving someone, or being goofy with someone creates relationship. sometimes the best conversations have the fewest words, but show the most of your heart.
10. you find your life when you surrender it to the One who created it.
-surrendering everything in life is hard, some might even say impossible. since my senior year of college, i have surrendered my life to the Father. i have been broken, depended on God, seen fruit from the brokenness, and continued this cycle over and over….and over. i will never stop. on the race, i have seen and felt a whole new perspective of brokenness – of both myself and those i have served or met. i have never felt more purpose in my life than i do on the race. i pray that the Lord continues to break me, that i continue to sit in my brokenness to depend on no one and nothing other than the Father, and that i continue to rise again and see the fruit from the brokenness.
this is only a small compilation of what i have learned on my three short months on the race. central america treated me well and i saw the love of the Father.
asia, europe, and africa have a lot to live up to, but i know that the Lord never disappoints an expectant heart. bring it on!
