Hello beautiful people! It's been a while; my apologies. I'd started many a draft and never got around to finishing any of them, so I figured I'd start from scratch.
As some of you know who may have seen on facebook, I just got back from an Epic Spring Break trip around the world!! Halfway around the world, anyways. My family and I joined Zola Levitt's tour group in the beautiful land of Israel for two weeks, and then I went without them to a YWAM base in England to visit my good friends there. In total, I've been gone for about 3 weeks and I am jetlagged out of my mind, but it was worth every second!! Israel, of course, is near and dear to my heart. I lived there for a few months in 2013 with my team from the Awaken school in Kona, so going back was extremely nostalgic for me. I absolutely love the country, the people, the cultures, the food, the language...even the weather (sometimes). What made it all the more special was to be able to share it with my family and with our friends the Weisses, who were leading the trip. I think my favorite part, though - and I know this is something some people will understand more than others - was the fact that I wasn't in charge!! It was honestly one of the biggest reliefs I have ever felt to stand in the middle of an airport and not be in charge at all. It was heavenly!! lol I'd love to tell you more about the trip, but I think my pictures on facebook say most of it on their own, so you can check those out and message me if you'd like to know more; there's just so much to tell! The most impactful part of the trip was what God was doing in my heart along the way, and that is what I do want to write a bit about. It was mostly the little things that touched my heart along the way; promises He remembered that I'd forgotten, and being able to feel Him smiling with me in a quiet moment. The biggest thing, though, was the very clear and powerful promise that He spoke to me while we were out worshiping in a boat on the sea of Galilee. The promise that He WILL bring me back to Israel because this is where He has so strongly planted my heart, and that this is where my inheritance is. <3 That touched my heart so much, and I know He is going to do it! I've always know that I loved Israel, but this was the first time that God told me He wanted me here too. That promise was backed up by a surprising peace I received a week later in England. We stayed out in the countryside and I got to spend many hours in the word and in prayer. I have been praying for direction for a couple years now, always wanting to know what God has for me next and where I should be preparing to go, but haven't gotten as many clear answers as I would have liked. It was in that place of rest and soaking in His presence that I finally got my unexpected answer. He said that I have been praying for direction when I'm not supposed to be going anywhere yet. It stung at first, as conviction should, but as it has soaked it it has brought an indescribable peace. I know that He has plans for me and that He has given me this heart for missions and for travel, but for now I can be completely content in waiting to know where I will be going next. Whether that be in a few months or a few years, I trust Him to bring me to my next opportunity when the time is right and to bless me while I stay in California until then. This something I've understood mentally for quite some time, but it's finally sunk in deeper and now I can truly live %100 in the time and place where He has been keeping me. It's funny to have these two things come back to back - a confirmed direction and the peace to stay put - but I think they have meshed in my heart exactly how they needed to. It was once I knew that He has plans on my horizon that I was able to release that and receive the call to stay until further notice. Because I know it's not forever, but that it's in His best for me to be here now. I've always hated ambiguity and loved having a plan, but my plan is trusting Him completely, so that's all I need to know.
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March 2023
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