In spirit of Independence Day- a day in which we celebrate a new beginning and a new adventure, I have felt in me such a deep gratitude for new beginnings.
What I love about this day is the thought of this generation of people in the 17th and 18th century with such a strong spirit of resilience. Over a century passed between the day that the British first set foot on the new land and the day they were truly free.
One of the things I love the most about my Father God is that He is always doing a new thing, and His plans are always good. There are so many places in history, in the Bible and in my life where I could rave over the way He always delivers such amazing promises.
I could start with my first and middle names: Sara Elizabeth.
Sara(h) was a woman in the bible who was promised to be the mother of a nation. Decades went by, and by the time she was way past barren, behold, The Lord delivered a son, Isaac.
Elizabeth was also years beyond childbearing age, and she gave birth to an amazing person who was absolutely on fire for The Lord.
The best part is both of these were steps in the process to prepare for The Messiah.
The college years are known to be the prime of the American’s life. For me, they have been the greatest and also the hardest. For four years, I have been refined from a passive-aggressive, naive little girl to a woman of The Lord.
Growing is hard, but it was also so, very sweet as The Lord poured out grace upon me through amazing people, ministries and times of intimacy with Him. Every single step of the growing pains were so worth it. It always has been. In scripture, whenever The Lord wanted to grow His people, He called them into the wilderness:
“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.” Hosea 2:14
He calls us away from everything, and grows us into who He created us to be- to give birth to promises. This year, He has given me a theme of “new wine skins.” In Matthew, Jesus used this analogy to communicate how everything that is in our comfort zones must be stripped away for us to fully step into new blessings:
“Neither do people pour new wine into old wine skins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wine skins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17
I got this theme back on New Years Day (God is so funny). Had I not been pushed out of my comfort zone? I went to college, and I moved across town into an apartment, but there was still so much familiar around me.
Then, within a few weeks, a girl I met was talking about The World Race. I had never heard of it. I always loved the idea of working in different corners of the world, but just as Sara(h) and Elizabeth did, I thought it would just be impossible. I applied anyway still thinking it was impossible. I did the phone interview still thinking it was impossible. Then, I got accepted.
I am going to a new place that I have never seen before just as our founding fathers did. I am stepping out in faith trusting that everything will be covered. I have lived my life in a box in so many ways- expecting to work for the weekends and if I ever get to travel- maybe to Disney Land.
I have been called to a journey I thought I would never actually do. My idea of how my life would look after graduation is turning out to be different from anything I ever imagined. I am shedding off the old wine skins.
“Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
