The word for this month. These words are sure to hold an adventure and a preview of what lies ahead…
The human mind… what a crazy thing. Why is it that when God remains so constant we get the idea that we need to do something in order for Him to remain constant? For the past 4 months I have been asking God for a word for each country. Each country He has been so faithful to just give me the word. Thailand was GRACE and that was the first word spoken to me in Bangkok. Malaysia was SANCTIFICATION and I asked God for it one Sunday and He told me in that moment. Indonesia was RADICAL and that one came as someone was praying over me and God told me that was the word for the month. It has been so cool to see what the new word is but also how the words all fit together and play off one another. Sometime God just likes to have fun with His words.
For some insane reason I felt that this month I had to work to get the word that God had for me. I felt I needed to read all these chapters and sit quietly before God. Which yes are all great things to do and I try to do them daily but I was doing it with an urgency. I had a “if I do this then God will do that” mindset. I know this is not a good mindset to have. I tried going for a long walk to clear my thoughts but all I could think of was how I was going to find my new word. Notice I was trying to do it. I don’t come up with the word – that is not my job.
I sat down to finish my journaling for the day and at the same time I gave up “working” for my word. I was reaching the end and I started writing, “Thank you Lord for restoring…” Wait. What?! I didn’t mean “restoring,” where did that word even come from? My thought, “how funny would that be if that was my word.” So I looked up the definition:
Verb
1. bring back or re-establish (a previous right, practice, or situation).”the government restored confidence in the housing market”
2. return (someone or something) to a former condition, place, or position.”the effort to restore him to office isn’t working”
3. repair or renovate (a building, work of art, etc.) so as to return it to its original condition.”the building has been lovingly restored”
4. give (something stolen, taken away, or lost) back to the original owner or recipient.”the government will restore land to those who lost it through confiscation”
I was good until number 4. That is the moment I began to cry. To be complete honest, I was least excited to be coming to Africa. Simply because I had spent 3 months in Mozambique, Africa 6.5 years ago. I understand that not all countries in Africa are the same. But one thing I did not realize was that something had been stolen from me.
When I was 7 all I wanted to do was go to Africa to save the babies. My heart had always been to go to Africa. I was in Africa living my dream rescuing the babies at 19 (turning 20). During that time my eye were being open and something was being destroyed/ taken from me. It wasn’t until I was sitting in Botswana, working for my word, that I realized my heart for Africa was missing.
So this month God has been restoring my heart in so many ways. Stay tuned to see all the ways God has been RESTORING my heart. And I am reminded that God is so consistent and all I have to do is BE (a never ending lesson).
