September 2011 I returned from a 4-month trip in Peru. I had
had a great experience!! However, I terribly missed the girls, Paty, Joel and
Nidia, and especially the kids. Culture shock was something that I didn’t
understand UNTIL I went through it that Fall. All my Peruvian friends wished I
would return, but was returning to Peru something that God wanted me to do? A
year ago today I was deciding what my next steps were… return to Peru? Do a
Masters of Social Work? Move to B.C.? Travel? Teach english overseas? The list was endless!
After talking with a close friend when I returned, I gave
myself 6 months before making a decision. I wanted to make a decision with God’s
direction rather than solely on emotion, my own desires and the wishes of others.
So, four months went by and it was the New Year of 2012. On
January 8th, 2012 the pastor of my church did a sermon called “The
Year of Living Dangerously.” The main message of his talk said that whatever I
hitch my wagon to will determine what happens to the things most important to
me. Very true! But what really resonated
with me was that I could choose to live two different lives…
… one where I go through the MOTIONS… in other words one of safety, security, protection, that
is bland, boring, empty and futile.
… or one that is DANGEROUS…
in other words, one that is determined, daring, impacting, courageous, radical,
risk-taking, and bold.
After 4 months of feeling crappy and feeling as though I was
living a life in the motions I felt this was finally a sermon that I resonated
with. Half way through the service I thought, “Okay God I get it.” BUT He
wanted to HIT IT HOME!
At the end of the service, a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfXgCx3f_1c)
was played with Katie Davis, a 21-year-old who has given her LIFE to orphans in
Africa. Katie is feeding and caring for thousands, and raising
children on her own… 14 children to be exact!
“Jesus
does not ASK that we care for the less fortunate, he DEMANDS it. When calling
ourselves Christ-Followers caring for the orphaned and the desolate and the
widow are not an option; it’s a REQUIREMENT.”
~Katie
Davis
I cried the entire video. (Glad no one was in my row! Hahah)
THEN they had a song sung called “The Motions.” A song that,
for the past year, was in my TOP 5! ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUg9qE_KjLg
)
OK GOD! GOT IT! You want me to go back… BUT I didn’t want it
to be coincidence. So I prayed the prayer… God here I am, fully submitted and
fully available to you. Change me in radical ways. Focus me on what you want me
to do. Align my priorities with your desires. Use me like you’ve never used me
before.
For the month of January, each Sunday I heard about Vision
and every week, I couldn’t get Peru out of my mind. The first message in the series was called "VISION QUEST: Discovering a Personal Vision." God wanted to drill it in!
"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
"If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.
But when they attend to to what He reveals, they are most blessed."
- Proverbs 29:18 (The Message)
"When there is no clear purpose or vision (relationship with others, how we do our work, money, looking after our physical health, other areas of our lives, etc.), if we have no vision and direction then life becomes a series of random events and choices, and short-sited pursuits, where we simply respond to and in the moment... We get caught up in the flow of reactionary living: life happens and we react. We become slave to our circumstances, choices of others, to the randomness of life and we get to the end of our lives and life can be filled with regret because there is no real accomplishment/achievement in life and now and until then it can be a meaningless life, and continue to go through the motions. But that's not what God wants. God wants you and I to live a life with a clear vision of where life is headed. He wants us to live a vision- and purpose-driven life." ~Pastor Dave Ralph
God wants me to have purpose, not simply a life that is nothing more than random events, stringed together.
I purchased Katie’s book (I
love to read and am a book-a-holic… so this was a give in!). It
turns out the book was a MASSIVE encouragement to me, demonstrating that in small steps of
obedience to God, He can create something more extraordinary than I could
have ever imagined. The story started for Katie with one open door of going to a
third-world country at the age of 17. Katie said yes, and then God placed needs
in front of her, and all she tries to do is meet them in the best way she can.
VERY inspirational!
Every year I feel more and more of a heart for the abandoned, mistreated, and orphaned children of this world. God had shown me that God has been aligning my priorities
with His. But it is MY CHOICE to be fully available and submitted to Him. How
much MORE available could I be?? NO kids, NO partner, NO house… no problem!
(haha a.k.a. no excuses) I knew that God wanted me to make that choice. He has
been easing me into it for a while now. I knew I’d be provided for if I went…
after all, He’d proven Himself trustworthy before. SO! What was holding me
back?? I made the decision February 1st, 2011 to head back.
(I would encourage people to follow
their hearts, gifts, and passions, and try to serve others one step at a time, whoever
is in front of them. As you meet the needs right in front of you, he can build
something different than we ever would have thought or planned.)
2012 was a year of pruning and growing for me. Working in an emergency shelter for at-risk youth was more like
HACKING then pruning, but definitely worth it! The growth in my experience,
patience and increased closeness with my family was definitely worth it!
Many have asked, “Are you getting
excited?” Honestly… I am scared poopless! Hahah I have never been so NOT in
control of what will happen next. SO EXCITING!!! I have an idea of what will
happen and what I will be doing while in Peru, but like last year, God will
have some surprises. And after the year is done? NO CLUE!! If you know me well…
this is UNUSAL! hahah So, my fear is a good fear. It’s an all or nothing
deal… like a zipline… I can’t HALF jump… I either jump or I don’t… Choosing not
to jump would be safe and comfortable. But JUMPING! Now that’s BOLD, COURAGEOUS
and DARING. It’s CHOOSING to put my life in God’s hand and saying, “Do what you’d
like.” God is calling me to live a life that is dangerous, not to live a life
of spiritual motions… so why NOT jump???
;)
3 Days and counting!
