A Piece of Cake

Right now I’m sitting on a balcony in Aqaba, Jordan overlooking the city.  I can see the twinkling lights of the city as well as the lights in the neighboring country of Israel.  I can hear the Call to Prayer as it echoes throughout the city.  It’s a moment I’m trying to take in and almost memorize.

It’s kind of crazy to think that I have lived in the Middle East for almost 2 years.  As I sat on the beaches of the Red Sea today, a thought went through my mind; if someone had told me 5 years ago where I would be this day, I would have thought they were insane.  Yet, here I am.

Next month I will be on a plane heading back to the US.  It’s an overwhelming thought, as I just don’t know what the future will hold.  However, some of the many things I have learned from this experience are this.  The Lord takes us to places we never dreamed possible.  We see and experience things that we didn’t even know existed.  We meet people that add so much to our lives and who show us so many things about the world around us and ourselves. 

Two years ago, I didn’t think it would be possible for me to live the life that I have been living, but I did.  So a little uncertainty about what is to come next….why that’s a piece of cake.

Ok, I’m going back to taking my moment in now because it’s too beautiful to miss by small distractions.  If I only had a piece of cake :) 

The Heartbreak Is Worth It

I have been in a little funk the last couple of weeks.  So many of the friends that I have made while here in Jordan have returned to their homelands.  Some of them have gone back for good and will not be returning to Jordan while others are just gone or travelling for the summer.    And then with the time difference and busy schedules of friends in the States, I haven’t even talked to friends back home too much either.  All this has lead to the blah I’ve been feeling.  A feeling of being left behind and sad even though I will soon be the one on the plane heading back home.

I have come to really not like goodbyes.  They are heartbreaking and so hard.  I have to admit that I have thought that if I didn’t have these connections with people whether the new friends I’ve made here or the family and friends back home, then the goodbyes wouldn’t be as hard.  There would be no tears and I wouldn't give them a second thought and not miss them.  When it came time for them to leave, it would just be a simple goodbye to the person and then back to my life and routine.   But then what?  What would my life look like if I didn't invest in people and allow them to invest in me?

During my time here in Jordan, I’ve realized how important it is to form connections and have true community.  To let people in, be vulnerable with them and to form a true friendship.  Each person in my life has been used by the Lord to teach me things about Him, about myself, and about how to be in relationship with others.  As hard as all the goodbyes have been and as hard as the last few weeks have been, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world because I have had the most incredible people enter my life, and now my world of friends has expanded.   I love each and every one of them.  

I also wouldn’t trade all the heart break because my relationship with the Lord has become deeper too. People will always come and go from our lives.  Whether they move across an ocean and we don't get to see and talk to them often or because they leave this life.  However, He is always there.  My constant companion and friend.  My rock and strength when life can be so overwhelming and so hard.  And He is worth it all.  

It Was 7 years Ago Today

7 years ago today I felt lost and alone.  7 years ago today I couldn’t stop crying.  7 years ago today although I had a relationship with Jesus since I was a young child, I didn’t know what it meant to simply come to the end of myself and let Him in to the deepest part of me and completely take over who I was.  7 years ago today, I sat alone in a room with just my Lord and heard His voice for the first time.  7 years ago I gave Him so much of the hurt and anger that I had deep down inside.  It was so deep; I didn’t even know it was there.  7 years ago today, Jesus began to heal my heart and began teaching me what it means to die to my self and to let Him take over. 

7 years ago I experienced God in a way that I had never experienced Him before.  That experience brought me to a deeper place with Him where the only thing I could do is to be baptized again to show my commitment to Him and how that day I truly died and was a new creature in Christ. 

I am forever grateful for that day 7 years ago because I had no idea as I sat there alone crying out to my Savior how He would take that day and begin laying the foundation of what He wanted to teach me and make me more like Him.

I didn’t realize that on that day 7 years ago was the beginning of a refining process that the Lord wanted and needed to do in my heart.  He continues to chip away at all the junk that is in my heart and my head.  I will admit, that there are times where this refining process is not fun and uncomfortable because clinging to old ways is easier and more comfortable, but it is not freedom. 

Right now, I’m going through another time of refining.  There have been tears, praying and deep reflection as He molding me and working out the kinks.  We’re kind of in the messy process right now, but I know when He is done it will be beautiful and 7 years from now I will be reflecting on this time and be ever so grateful for what He did.