This week I was on dish crew again. It was refreshing to have a break after two weeks of pouring myself out physically, emotionally, and spiritually for my campers. If I’m being completely honest, it was also a huge blessing to work in an air conditioned building during one of the hottest weeks of the summer. Even with three weeks of Phantom Ranch experience under my belt, God made it clear that He still had a very lengthy lesson plan for me and my remaining time here.
Lesson 1: There is a purpose for my singleness.
Last summer I read “When God Writes Your Love Story” by Eric and Leslie Ludy and it dramatically changed the way I looked at guy/girl relationships. I read it again this week and, once again, my perspectives have been changed. I’ll be writing another post about it in more detail soon, but basically I have committed to not dating for a year. I feel that I have been called to pursue a deeper relationship with Christ, and that this season of singleness will allow me to remain more focused on Him. Hopefully this will be a time of devoted service, immense growth, and a relentless pursuit of the One rather than “the one.”
Lesson 2: God is romancing me.
This lesson hit home for me as I read the book “Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul” by John and Stasi Eldredge. There are a lot of metaphors used to describe our relationship with God, but the most intimate, the most personal, is that of the bride and the bridegroom. This week, I began to see this as a real relationship. God really does love me, and He is constantly proving it to me. Daily He surrounds me with things that stir my heart –the sun on Phantom Lake, a good book, the smell right before rain. Just as in Hosea 2:14, He is alluring me, leading me into the desert and speaking tenderly to me. The more I become aware of this pursuing, the more I fall in love with the One who knows the deepest desires of my heart.
Lesson 3: God is a healer of wounds.
I mean this both literally and figuratively. Early in the week I burned my hand as I attempted to put a hot pan into the sink. As I continued to clean up after that meal, it became more and more difficult to tolerate water of any temperature or to fully flex the muscles of that hand. I sent out a tweet, asking my followers to pray for healing and sent up a quick prayer myself. In typical miraculous fashion, God’s healing hand was holding mine and by the end of the day the burn was no longer affecting my job performance. But this week I also learned firsthand that the Lord is capable of healing much deeper wounds. Recently I had been feeling convicted about a secret I kept from my mom for six years. I understood that it was important for our relationship that I finally open up and let her in on this dark piece of my story. The secret had been a significant wound for me. Giving it away to my mom and trusting the Lord for forgiveness and grace allowed healing to finally come. He placed that conviction on my heart because He knew it was time to start stitching up the broken things.
How you can be praying this week: Please pray for endurance to power through my last week at Phantom Ranch. Pray also for the high school campers I will be counseling this week during the SuperTeen session. May the Holy Spirit open their hearts to receive a message of unending love and amazing grace.
"To know Christ and to make Him known."
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