A Season to Come and a Season to Go
I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life. The road from Jinotega to Managua is absolutely gorgeous with its sculpted mountains, lush landscapes, and dynamic skies. But the most beautiful thing I saw was not out my window – it was not something I was seeing with my eyes but with my heart. As I looked at the beautiful land that God has made in Nicaragua, I also pictured the beautiful people that He made and that I have come to love. I closed my eyes and imagined their faces. My heart gazed upon all the memories I have of the places I have been and the things I have been a part of. I tried to wrap my mind around everything that God has taught me and revealed to me, but it was so overwhelmingly brilliant that I could hardly soak it all up. As I looked out the window and waved goodbye to Jinotega, tears rolled down my face. It was the only way I knew to respond to such beauty.
As hard as it was to leave Jinotega, God has given me great peace. He has comforted me by reminding me that there is a season for everything – a season to come and a season to go. This summer has been a season of great spiritual growth. I have heard God’s voice, seen His hand, and experienced His love in powerful, life-altering ways. It has truly been a life to the full. (John 10:10)
As much as I hated to leave, part of me can’t wait to go back home so that I can live what I have learned. This summer has been so impactful on my life that I cannot wait to start sharing and living what God has revealed to me. Just like my season in Jinotega was a calling from God, so is my time back in the United States. There are people to love and serve wherever I go. It may be the end of my work in Nicaragua, but it is the beginning of a lifestyle of mission work.
Now I am safely home, and I can hear the washer churning with a load of my clothes. As soon as they come, I will pack them in another bag and head to Canada for a float trip with my dad. I am looking forward to several days of quietness and solitude in the wilderness, for it is in that kind of place that I truly sense the presence of God. I need this time to relax and reflect on everything that God has done in me this summer. My heart needs some time to praise God and learn how to respond to what He has done in my life. As a result of this summer, I am not the same, and I need to hear from the Lord on how to live differently now that I am back in the United States.
For that reason, I invite you to pray. Pray that my feelings of “Nicaragua homesickness” will create in me a living memory of everything that I experienced this summer. Pray that these memories will not be stored in my head, but in my heart. I do not want to just remember the instances, but the sights, smells, sounds, and emotions that come with it. Pray that God will speak to me in the wilderness this week, helping me know how to live in response to how He has changed me. Most of all, pray that the passion I feel for every-day-mission-work will not fade. Pray that this love in my heart will not become dull or diluted, but will be a fire in my bones.
I do not know what to do with myself now that I am back in the States, but I know God has something in mind. May I learn to trust Him in this new season of my life, and may His Spirit graciously guide me as I seek to follow Him blindly.
As hard as it was to leave Jinotega, God has given me great peace. He has comforted me by reminding me that there is a season for everything – a season to come and a season to go. This summer has been a season of great spiritual growth. I have heard God’s voice, seen His hand, and experienced His love in powerful, life-altering ways. It has truly been a life to the full. (John 10:10)
As much as I hated to leave, part of me can’t wait to go back home so that I can live what I have learned. This summer has been so impactful on my life that I cannot wait to start sharing and living what God has revealed to me. Just like my season in Jinotega was a calling from God, so is my time back in the United States. There are people to love and serve wherever I go. It may be the end of my work in Nicaragua, but it is the beginning of a lifestyle of mission work.
Now I am safely home, and I can hear the washer churning with a load of my clothes. As soon as they come, I will pack them in another bag and head to Canada for a float trip with my dad. I am looking forward to several days of quietness and solitude in the wilderness, for it is in that kind of place that I truly sense the presence of God. I need this time to relax and reflect on everything that God has done in me this summer. My heart needs some time to praise God and learn how to respond to what He has done in my life. As a result of this summer, I am not the same, and I need to hear from the Lord on how to live differently now that I am back in the United States.
For that reason, I invite you to pray. Pray that my feelings of “Nicaragua homesickness” will create in me a living memory of everything that I experienced this summer. Pray that these memories will not be stored in my head, but in my heart. I do not want to just remember the instances, but the sights, smells, sounds, and emotions that come with it. Pray that God will speak to me in the wilderness this week, helping me know how to live in response to how He has changed me. Most of all, pray that the passion I feel for every-day-mission-work will not fade. Pray that this love in my heart will not become dull or diluted, but will be a fire in my bones.
I do not know what to do with myself now that I am back in the States, but I know God has something in mind. May I learn to trust Him in this new season of my life, and may His Spirit graciously guide me as I seek to follow Him blindly.
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