Welcome to the World Race y'all. After such an intense travel day, we are here! Upon arriving to Turkey, my team and I embarked on a journey like no other. We all loaded up our packs onto a bus, hopped on, and thanked The Lord for air conditioning that was provided for the 28 hour drive ahead of us. My feet and ankles had swollen due to the long flight and were now similar to Shrek's, my body was exhausted, and the last thing on my mind was trying to find God on this bus ride. I had just left everything that was familiar to me, why would I come to him now? My main priority was sleep and nothing else.
Ha.
Yeah right.
God never listens to my plan. Are we seeing a pattern here? Praise him for that.
As we drove out of Greece and into Macedonia, I began to notice these unfinished extravagant houses along the road. The houses were well built, however most of the time the second and third floors of these houses were completely abandoned and empty.
They were unfinished. Plain and simple.
This pattern continued throughout Albania as well. The more I thought about it, the more I saw God in this situation. We, like these houses, are a work in progress. God is continually working in our lives. Unlike the owners of these houses, God never abandons us during this process. He never leaves or forsakes us.
Boy did I need this reminder.
Leaving my family and friends for such a long time is by far one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. As homesickness began to set in, I began to believe the lies that I, like these houses, had been completely abandoned.
I had no internet, I had been placed in a new community, my family was gone, and I just felt alone.
And then, in the most gentle way, God granted me a sense of peace like no other. I realized for the first time in my life, I had to completely rely on God. I could no longer put my mom, dad, friends, or family before him due to lack of internet access. It was he and I. It was on me to give into this fact and just receive the love that he had for me. As most of you know, I am extremely stubborn. The more I fought giving into him, the more miserable I became. Finally, at 3am I gave up. I couldn't fight anymore. As I began to pour out in prayer to God, it felt as if weight was literally being lifted off of me. I am so thankful for God's faithfulness and that he never leaves us.
Remember, we are very different than these houses. Our creator will never leave us nor will he forsake us.
