Always Yours

Well. After a 14 hr flight from San Fran, we are here in Hong Kong safely. Currently we await our ferry to take us to Macau where we will get settled in late tonight and focus on getting acclimated tomorrow. Please be praying for our team to love one another so our love for each other can speak louder than any language barriers. My prayer is we point each other and others to Jesus by even just simple interactions in traveling about from place to place. Our journey has only just begun.

I woke up yesterday, just as if it was any other day, not as if I had just spent the last 7 days of my life Traveling about Fitchburg//Boston, MA. Yet I woke much earlier, on my own, than I usually do. Because 7am here in San Diego, is 10 am where I was. Oh sweet Jet Lag. How often have I complained about you in my life Jet Lag? I think you might be one of the world’s most disliked assimilation processes. Traveling always confounds me. First of all, airplanes make me feel like I’ve been taken through time to this different place in history, uncovering different worlds, experiencing something that once I go back in time to my real life- is lost to time forever; everything turns into pictures, memories, and the ever so often keep in touch with people from the different traveled worlds. I might sound nuts, but that is how I feel about it.

I’m a very sentimental person; I love emotions. I love looking about the people I’m with, the places I’m at, and taking a moment to recognize either aloud, or to myself, how special it all really is to me. Some people probably tire of my sentimentalism, so I try to tone it down often, surprisingly enough.

When I was on my trip I encountered a traveler’s other least favorite assimilation occurrence: The 24 hr Stomach Flu. I had been there for less than 48 hours and I was sick as a dog. I missed the last day of my teams outreach, and the days prior had consisted of much needed rest for my hard working team, and a canceled outreach or two due to the rain. Then once I was better we had church on Sunday, a very pleasant time of fellowship with a family at the Church’s home after, and then followed a free day in Boston on Monday. Tuesday, I left! What is there to get sentimental about I thought? I loved being there with my team. But I didn’t feel a pull to Boston, or certainly not Fitchburg. 

Then as I awoke today, earlier again, (thank you very much Jet Lag!); I realized my body was telling me something- my regiment here at home is all off because something just happened. I just encountered an entirely different experience and it is not time to forget that just yet. I think our bodies are brilliant, God created them so wonderfully!

You see while we travel, whether for business, leisure, obligation, event, or missions, etc, our bodies are effected. We are tired at different times, hungry at different times, more tired than usual, maybe more emotional due to the tiredness, etc. We are being reminded to stop and think and realize something is happening. Our bodies adapt, or assimilate quickly, esp. with most of us traveling for short periods these days, yet they still remind us to evaluate our circumstances.

Body, why do you wake up at 7am on your own when I have to fight you on the usual required occasions to do so? 

No answer from the body, but the Holy Spirit certainly gave me an answer.

“Because you shouldn’t just jump back into your routine and forget everything you just saw, everyone you just encountered, everything your team experienced before you got there. Don’t just get back into the swing of things and pretend nothings different. There are things I showed you that are supposed to change you, spend time to reflect, to think; be changed! Grow.”

God intends for all experiences to grow us I believe. Good or bad. As His Children in all things we are being more perfected into His image. Our bodies recognize this. They cry out and say, “Hey, Lady!” or “Hey, DUDE!” ….”This is not normal, I need a sec to get the hang of the changes you keep throwing me through; just give me some time, okay? I gotta evaluate, I gotta respond, you ought to as well.”

I’m challenged today because despite my baby week of practicum not turning out how I expected it to, I was so blessed. Regardless of any complaints I could make, I shouldn’t make them. I am thankful. 

We get to experience so much blessings as God’s kids. Do we learn from them? Do we take time to let them grow us? Or are we just frequently traveling through life telling our bodies to shut up? 

touchoftheblues:

praying that I remember God is sovereign, even when I run.

he is always bigger than my doubt, always in control when I worry. always greater than my anger and always loving when I am rebellious. always full of grace when I am full of resentment. always, always, always.

I think where we end up is always different than we picture, than we want, but I think as a child of God we always end up where we need to be.

There is strange beauty in saying, “i won’t do that”

“I would never do that.”

“Thats not what I picture my spouse being like, or my job, etc.”

AND THEN…

God’s like well, your vision is limited and mine is infinite, and without flaw, oh Yeahh and my ideas, my pictures, my plans are perfect and full of you getting everything you need and then some extra brilliance for you to just enjoy and feed off for fun.

And I am finally thankful for this.
Nothing has happened the way I planned.
My control freak self has fought long enough to get my way, get what I see as best, and lose time after time.

It is time world to let God’s plan just run over me like the wonderful life water that it is-totally and completely reviving and renewing everything I thought I lost, ruined, killed, and making it all new and all better.

I am thrilled about who God is and how he works.

Be thrilled about life, stop fighting for the wrong things, and get what you need.

You won’t walk out of life disappointed.

“Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.”