of my old journals. It is amazing to reflect on where God has taken you and how
he has answered your prayers.
Lord you let me experience
your picture of heaven and the world! You showed me a glimpse of what is ahead.
Lord, prepare me and help me to yield to your preparation. Lord, show me what I
need to know for now, show me the next step. India, WOW!
Anything is possible with
God!
India? India!
while waiting for you to show me when, where, and what.”
This is from a journal I
wrote four years ago. It was the during summer between high school and college. I was
at Big Stuf, a retreat similar to the Passion conferences but for high school
students. I had recently
bought the Caedmon’s Call album Share The Well, which was inspired by their trip
to Ecuador and India. I have always been interested in Indian culture but now it enraptured me. I am a part of a church where missions
and diversity is a huge focus, but it had never struck me so deeply as it did then. At Big
Stuf, during one of the many deep worship sessions I was overcome with a huge
compassion for the people in India and was compelled to do something. I simply had to go.
I was blown away at how profoundly and clearly I had heard from God. It was a little out-of-the-blue. I was not looking for an adventure, college
was going to be an adventure enough, but I could not ignore what God had told me. I had to somehow get to India to touch these people who were
living in darkness.
Since that summer God has
not let me forget this calling. It has been so cool to see how faithfully God
reminded me about my focus and calling. God has used many things to remind me, things like stories on
the news that suddenly bring me to tears, receiving letters from the little boy
I now sponsor in India, and the encouragement of dear friends. One really crazy thing
that God used to help me not forget is bringing me a new friend. One day last
December, at an event with my college ministry I was introduced to a girl who
had just gotten back from India just a few days before. She was randomly in my
city for just three weeks on her way home and just happened to show up at one
of our events. It was so wonderful to get to know her. She was so full of excitement
about what God was doing in India, and helped to rekindle the excitement in me.
We still keep in touch. She still goes back and forth to India, working with a Christian
school that is being built there.
During these four years I
have seen God answer my prayer of “when, where, and what.” He told me to go after
I graduate, for three months, with a state-side organization. The rest of the details he did not lay out so clearly. I believe that this trip is an answer to my prayers and am so very excited to see what God is going to do.
This is so cool to hear 🙂
I don’t think that God needs difficulty to make grace apparent, I don’t think God’s goodness is dependent on the evil of the world- but I know that often grace comes from difficulty and it is so cool to see how sometimes the most good can come from the hardest situations or circumstances. God is more than good!
You’re post reminds me of the verse in 1 Kings where God is speaking to Elijah;
“The LORD said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
and how hard it is sometimes to stay in tune with God’s gentle whisper. How great to see that God has taken care of the “when what and where.” Sometimes I don’t think we’ll ever understand the “how” and I kind of like that mystery.
Peace and blessings!
I do love the mystery of God. Some people (like my roommate) are frustrated by it, but for me it sparks my imagination and wonder.
If we could figure God out there would be something really wrong.
This is SO exciting to read 🙂 Thank you for sharing! I absolutely cannot WAIT to meet everyone.
wow. So blessed to be a part of this God adventure as He shows you His heart for this country!