Monday, December 23, 2013
College Debate over Creationism
Thursday, November 14, 2013
The Heart and Mind of God
Isaiah 55:8 KJV
Teach me to surrender my will and seek after Your holy and perfect will, Lord. For You are not a good that will abandon us in the middle of the drought, neither will you leave us standing alone in our deepest trials. Though we may not understand the paths You have set before us, teach us to walk them in faith, and in humility. Knowing that our simple minds cannot, many times, understand Your plans for our life, and what You will and won't allow. I give today and the rest of the week to You, Lord Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
By His Breath
A New Commitment
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Redemption
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Strangely at Peace
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Invisibly
I went to a luncheon today at the community college I attend. It was to honor the many donors of scholarships as well as congratulate the recipient students. I was blessed enough to be one. I was nervous at first, but soon that subsided as it was replaced with a kindling fire and assurance that I was doing what God wanted me to do. I witnessed countless donors and students who publicly professed their Faith. I had the opportunity to meet my supporters. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch (with pumpkin cheesecake as a dessert).
This day. This week. This year has truly been blessed. Yet now is the week upon us where many children don their costumes and trick or treat. So much darkness is in this time of year. Most people do not see it because it is subtle. Yet through and through not all take October 31 as just a fun filled day. Many take it to a serious occult level.
God has weighed it heavily on my heart to pray for this nation... To pray globally over this day and the children and families. May God's presence be evident and His power be at work today as this spiritual battle is being fought invisibly around us. Unknown to the eye yet ever amongst us.
Monday, October 28, 2013
A Hurting World At Our Fingertips
One is that I have a good friend who has been depressed for a while now and has been thinking on ending her life. She is only 14 and the Devil has a strong grip on her heart. She believes in God and claims that she is a Christian but I often question if she really has a personal relationship with Him.
Another is that my coworker slipped and fell today and I am nigh convinced she broke a rib. After a few hours she was struggling to even breathe and had to keep her back straight like a board to ease the pain from a ten to a nine. She isn't one to complain at all and I worry it is serious.
I know God can do miracles and I believe there is a field ready to be harvested where people are hurting. These girls I mentioned as well as the rest of the world. As well as those diagnosed with XDR-TB. But God can move mountains. He is the essence of our being and breathes the strength of the world with every breath. May He touch these two women today and bless them. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Where is the cure?...
This is not even the worst. There are rumors of another TB, known as TDR-TB (totally drug resistant), that has absolutely no cure. There have been cases of this type in Iran, Iraq and India. Scientists have tried to find drugs that will fight this mutation of the disease, but they have yet to be successful. Those who catch this have no hope of survival, unless God intervenes. Beyond this, W.H.O. and several other health organizations refuse to acknowledge its existence.
Is their any hope? Or is this the next global pandemic? Please join me in praying for these people and their families. Perhaps there is no cure that man can provide, but God can always intervene. Let us pray in faith and watch miracles happen!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
A total of 700
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
The Controversy Over Wolves
Monday, October 14, 2013
Because of Tradition
Prostitution Enforced by Tradition
I found this link while searching the internet today. It is on a small village in India, known as Naptura, where prostitution is forced upon young girls. This is such a huge battle all over the world, and this is but a glimpse of it. We need to stand up and be their allies. We need to be a voice when they have lost theirs. For they suffer in the silence of their homes, with none to care or feel their pain. "...The most shocking [and saddest] fact is that almost every woman here believes that she is just carrying on a ‘village tradition’. This thought [is] instilled in them by their family members and other male relatives in their childhood.."
Let us not ignore this grotesque crime. Let us not be content to happily live our lives in free America while they struggle in pain and suffering. Let us rather carry their burdens and commit to do something so simple, yet so powerful. Let us commit to pray. Let us commit to make a change.
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Persuasive Speech - World Hunger
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Gloria a Dios!
My car died several times today. It couldn't hold an idle for more than a second; which is not near enough to pull the gear from park into drive. The devil truly is using every trick up his sleeve to discourage me, and to keep me from pursuing the calling God has set for me. But the enemy will not win. I will not back down. God has given me an assignment to serve across seas and I will not 'throw in the towel'. I will not let God or those overseas be disappointed.
There will come a day when I will pass all these obstacles and look back on the path which I struggled. I will know that the trials were worth it. I will be amazed at God's grace in guiding me. I will worship Him for all He has done. And thus, I shall worship Him even now. Gloria a Dios!
Monday, October 7, 2013
A New Person
It hasn't been all rainbows and daisies recently, but the Lord is faithful. Despite all that I struggle with I see Him working in amazing ways, behind the scenes. He has become so much apart of my daily activities. He has His foot in everything I do and I love it! I want to include Him. No longer do I feel His presence only at church, but in every single aspect of my life.
He is healing me from the inside out. He is blessing me. He is giving me the strength to endure the trials I face everyday. In fact, despite all the heartache of I am dealing with I have to say that this season has been great! It has been blessed! I will remember these days as a paradise. Why? Not because of what the world has thrown at me, but because of how God has been working in my life... in my heart. I feel like a completely new person! And I am so excited to share it with you all!
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Too much hope?
So i know i haven't been very faithful to posting here. To say my life has been busy would be a grave understatement. Yet i have truly enjoyed every minute of these hectic days... Mostly.
God has been working in my life in amazing ways, and should i try to tell you it all i wouldn't know where to begin.
For one thing i will say that my undying hope has been both my downfall and strength. Too often my hopes rise to heights so great that when i am faced with failure i fall to great disapointment. Indeed, it is good to have faith. To hope in all things. Yet is it possible to hope too much? If so, i am tragically guilty.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Eyes on the prize
Its week two in my college studies n i must admit that i love it! The classes are easy enough and the instructors great. I only pray that i do well and "keep my eyes on the prize" so to speak. For i am doing this so that i might eventually be able to serve over seas. As long as i keep that in mind and seek forever the will of God, i know i will come out victorious =)
Monday, September 2, 2013
When they have no voice...
But I have. And now I cry when I but see their suffering faces on the internet. I see their pain and anguish and I mourn because I know that they are fighting a losing battle. They face desolation, captivity, hatred, emptiness and loneliness on every side. They weep and call out but no one hears them. They cry for someone to hear them but the world doesn't even see them.
I want to go to those children. I want to be their voice when theirs has gone. When they can't stand because they have been pushed down too many times, I want to lift them up on my shoulders and be their feet. I want to wash their wounds and comb their messy hair. I want to embrace them and kiss them, even yet while their bodies are infected with disease, because no one else dares even touch them. I want to pray for them and watch them be healed. I want to tell them about Jesus and pour His love onto them. I want to wrap them in warm blankets and tell them they have a Father in Heaven who cares for them and is watching over them. I want to suffer when they suffer. I want to bear their burdens. I want to cry their tears and I want to laugh when they at last laugh. I want to find them and let them know their cry has been heard. I want to tell them that someone still cares. More over, I want to tell them Jesus cares.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Unexplained Change
As you may have noticed I have been waiting two weeks to update Voice for the Voiceless rather than only one. At first I must admit it was out of procrastination but now I feel the Lord leading me to continue to pray even longer, for the children and their families who die from hunger, for instance, every year. All I can think about is their skin and bones and weeping faces and frightened eyes and loss of hope that seem to scream from the pictures I find online.
I can't help but want to hold them in my arms and whisper to them about Jesus and His love. To tell them that He is watching them and wiping away their tears and weeping when they weep and indeed rejoicing when they are happy. I want so desperately to hear the sound of their carefree giggles and hearty laughs. To see the smile in their eyes. I want to love them like Jesus. In short, I am dedicating yet another week to "Endless Hunger".
In addition to that, I at last started my first day of college. Public Speaking was the class and I have a feeling that I will enjoy it immensely. I still can't believe that I am finally beginning this journey to pursue my dream. I only wish it didn't have to take so long. Four years seems like centuries when you know that people are dying everyday. It's so hard for me to be happy without feeling guilty inside. Here I laugh while they cry. Perhaps such is the reason I find myself awkwardly crying in randoms moments of the day.
Call me emotional but all my life it was so easy for me to weep selfish tears. It came so easily when someone hurt my feelings. Yet now, today, I couldn't shed a tear. I was at a lost until suddenly the Lord reminded me of the hurting children from across seas. Thinking of their pain caused me to cry endlessly. I didn't even know why but it ached so deep inside, and I could literally feel their burdens and sorrow. It took everything inside me to keep from jumping a plane at that moment and shipping myself off to some unnamed country. Indeed, I find it slightly frightening the way the Lord is working in my life and heart.
Yet perhaps it is OK if it gives me the drive and motivation to run after this calling, if it keeps me focused on the Lord's will for my life, then I don't mind it. I am thankful. I am thankful for how much the Lord has been changing me. Now I hear Him tell me that He wants to bless me.
He says that I am "ready". That the "time is here". Yet time for what? I don't understand but I feel Him smile. I am so glad that Jesus is so alive in my life. I only wish I could live my calling today. Right now. I know the day will come and these such weekly prayers are the only thing that holds me together while I wait for me to be ready. May I live to be everything that God has planned for me and nothing more.
And bless those children who do hunger. Their pain is in my heart always.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Endless Hunger - A Voice for the Voiceless
These poor children suffer all their lives, many never having a real meal. Truly nothing but skin and bones, it makes me ashamed to know how much we stuff our faces here in America. And think of all those millions of dollars going into dieting and special pills to help us lose weight. Think of how many people are bulimic. We spend $50+ on a steak dinner when that could indeed feed so many starving families across seas.
I'm not saying that it is a sin to enjoy a nice meal every now and again but don't forget about those who are going hungry. Don't forget about those children who are dying everyday, losing the battle of hunger. They can't even imagine what it feels like to be full. They don't know what it's like to "eat out of boredom". Food isn't a luxury to them. It's a prize they fight everyday only to find it many times unobtainable.
Please join me in praying to God for these people. They are suffering and in pain. These children many times are beyond recovery, but you and I know of Someone who can still heal them. You and I know that there is still hope. If nothing else than for their souls. Don't let us turn a blind eye to their anguish and cry.
"Lord hear their cry tonight. Hold them in Your arms and fill their bellies. Bring people to their aid and stop this hunger. Let them find hope in You. Rain manna down and bless them. Show them Your strength and power and grace and love. Let them know that You are near and have heard them. Let them know that they are not alone. You say to pray in faith. Indeed, in faith we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen."
For more information see below -
Just how hungry?
Saturday, August 17, 2013
With all my breaths I pray
It was just one of my co-workers but somehow we got onto the subject of life and family. I never share about my childhood (I mean who wants to talk about your mother leaving?) but yesterday I just felt like I needed to. It was brief but in the end I was talking about how though God allows heartache and trials, He never expects us to bear them alone. There is always a reason for everything and such things can make us stronger and closer to God.
I told her how I was okay to have just been raised by a dad. How I never missed anything because God somehow brought it about that we would still be a complete family. I don't regret the past but am thankful for it... because it has made me the person I am today.
I won't bore you with details but know that my life has never been roses and rainbows. Yet I don't mind. I'm perfectly fine the way my 19 years of life were spent. Except for the regret of not sharing the Gospel more to people and the times I did fail. But the Lord always gives us the opportunity to repent and start over.
It is because of His saving grace and mercy. It is because of His love, for indeed He first loved us when we were yet lost sinners and condemned. But Christ was moved with compassion and so came down from Heaven to pour His love on this world. It was unrequited love so many times but that didn't stop Him. He went to the cross for us and died for us because His love for us was that strong. It IS that strong. And that is exactly how I am able to endure any hardship that comes my way. Because I know that there is Someone watching over me; Someone who died for me 2,000 years ago on a cross. And I know that such trials are only opportunities to make me stronger.
I am so glad for the opportunity that I had to share a bit of my testimony. It wasn't much at all. In fact, I didn't quite even get to the part how I accepted Jesus into my life. But I showed her how a life with Jesus has indeed changed my life and made me to survive all the hardship of my yesterdays.
I see the glow and hope of her accepting Christ into her life. She is so quiet when it comes to such topics but each day I see her opening up more and more. Just little comments and actions, and I pray with all my breaths that she is not far from taking that leap of faith. May I see that day when it comes, for indeed I have faith. And I am excited.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Blessed Misfortune??
I've honestly begun to think it isn't the Lord's will for me to attend school. Perhaps I should consider online courses. At least for this semester. The thing I fear the most is living outside the Lord's will. I just want to do everything as soon as possible; start school, graduate, and ship myself across seas to do what I've always wanted to do... the only reason why I've even considered college.
MSF Doctors Without Borders seems so far away some days. Like it'll be another lifetime before I can live that dream. Perhaps I should forget the degree and instead save up and buy that airplane ticket now. I mean there's plenty of ministry organizations I could join, right? I start small. Maybe an orphanage. Join the little medical unit there and learn while on the job.
I could find people who are going to other devastating life-threatening places and hitch a ride with them. Within a year I could be doing what I've always wanted to do. I could be feeding the poor, cradling the crying babies. I could be laying hands on the sick and showing people the hope that lies with Jesus. I could be loving them like Jesus. Who honestly said I have to wait 4 years?
I'm so antsy I swear that if God wants me to stay here and do this college thing, then He might just have to hog tie me to this air mattress of a bed and pile a bunch of textbooks on top to hold me down.
I cried so hard today (laugh if you want but its true) when I started to wonder if I ever would be given the chance to go across seas. Today felt so hopeless as I realized that every single attempt I made to get my license and buy a car fell through to failure. From my sister's car breaking down in the middle of the test, to expenses piling up from nowhere, to being unable to arrange appointments and transportation to go see cars for sale, nothing has worked out.
Don't get me wrong I know that God has everything under control. I'm just afraid that I have completely misunderstood how God wants me to go about this. I'm terrified of living outside of God's will but sometimes I don't have the foggiest idea what that even is. In truth, are these misfortunes God's way of telling me I'm going the wrong way... or is the Devil in a desperate attempt to thwart me from what God wants me to do?
If it's the Devil then I will not be moved and I will be steadfast in pursuing this... but if this is all from God then all I want to do is give everything up and let Him take over.
Perhaps that is exactly what I need to do. If it's the Lord's will for me to get this license and a car and attend school then God will provide a way. I have proven that I am willing and I have tried everything to meet Him half way. Perhaps this was all a test and now all I have to do is fall in the arms of Jesus and watch Him work in my life. If I am not in God's will I vow to give up right now and let Him take the wheel. If it is... then He will work out everything.
I don't know if you guys even got this far in this post. It's so long and I'm sure by now your just sitting there with your eyes half closed skimming the words and grateful the end is in sight. Lol. I would be too. Just know that it doesn't matter how messed up your life seems. It doesn't matter how many times you've hit rock bottom. What matters is if you've let the Lord take over yet. What matters is if whether or not your still struggling at the wheel or if you've taken your foot off the pedal. What matters is if you've realized yet that the only way your getting through this is with God leading the way. Lets just say that is what I am learning everyday.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Depends on my ears...
I have been guilty of this numerous times. Perhaps the humor in this photo will help us never forget to be sensitive to what the Lord has to say to us.
Many times His answer is "Wait". It has been for me so many times and all too often I jump the gun and mess everything up. He may fix everything and eventually come around to saying "Now go" but by then there will have been so much time wasted. Time that, if I would have only listened and waited, could be spent invested in what He has for me to do rather than fixing my early arrival.
Today, this week, this month, this YEAR, my goal is to wait on the Lord and be lead by His voice. I don't want to take my life into my own hands because every time I have the people I love the most get hurt. I get hurt and many times I've lost my opportunity entirely because of it. That little blessing that God was going to grant me now is no longer because I couldn't learn to wait. But I will now.
I will wait on Him. I will go when He tells me go. I will stop when He commands stop. I will take the path that He has set before me. Dare to take on the challenge of letting Him lead. Dare to close your eyes and see what places you will find yourself when you take His hand.
There is a world out there just beyond our fingertips and God has a special purpose for each one of us in it. He has written our life story and it is beautiful and amazing beyond our imagining. All we need do is follow Him. All we need do is accept His hand. All we need to is open our eyes and ears and heart and be ready for His bidding. Dare you to see what amazing things happen when we dare to listen? When we dare to follow?
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Random Thoughts
On the right here as well, I have short devos or inspiring scriptures that I miyself have come to learn as I seek God more and more. Some are simply from Church services while others are what the Lord has shown me throughout random days.
Below and to the right of this pain page I also have a few links posted. The list grows longer as I discover more amazing faith based sites. If you have any you know please let me know. I would love to check them out and link to them.
One in particular is my favorite. Harvest Time is the name, and currently it is previewing a talented Christian Country artist on the rise. You can check that out here at - http://www.ourchurch.com/member/h/harvest_time/index.php?p=1_7_Music-Multi-media
Thanx everyone so much for reading and commenting. It truly is so encouraging. I love writing to you all and am so glad I have people to share my experiences with as I grow deeper in the Lord.
God bless!
Love me
If you haven't heard this song you should check it out. I've always liked it but today when hearing it on the radio at work, it really hit hard and I saw it in a totally different way. This is the boy who doesn't know he has a Father who loves him. It's the mother who doesn't know she isn't alone. It's the man behind bars who can't see his second chance. It's the orphan who doesn't know he has a family eager to welcome him with open arms. These are the people who cry to the deafening silence with no reply. But Someone does hear them. Someone does love them.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Wounds of the Children - A Voice for the Voiceless
All across this over populated country children have been violently attacked throughout the schools and many even killed. Complete strangers will just walk in during school hours and throw around, kick and even stab these innocent kids for no reason. Many times the predators will kill themselves afterwards while no explanation is given as to why this sudden outburst of violence. If they are caught alive, their punishments remain mostly moderate if brought to justice at all.
I can't even begin to understand why God would allow this but I know that there is a reason for everything. Satan is the prince of this world and everyday we witness horrible things happen. Perhaps such things happen so that we might as God's people stand up and do something about it. Perhaps it is a motivation to leave our comfort zone and comfort the inflicted. We are not on this earth for our own pleasure nor to enjoy a comfortable and carefree life. Our mission is to be ambassadors for Christ. It is our duty to love this world and be that Good Samaritan and help the brokenhearted and wounded. It is our calling to give of ourselves so that we might help save the life of another and bring them to know Christ.
What stops us therefore then, from lifting up a prayer to our heavenly for these poor children? Many know not God or how to pray. Many can't see the light of hope but we do through Jesus. Therefore let us meet with the Lord this day for them and request His saving grace. These children do not have a voice to cry out but we do! Let us be a voice for the voiceless!
For more information on whats happening in China see below -
Six Children Killed
Nursery School Attack
Teachers Too?
(I do realize that there are some good schools still for children in China. But at the moment too many are unsafe and insecure for us to just ignore.)
Letting Him be real
"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20:29
Very true!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
A little faith
If only that faith existed today. If only we confessed the name of our Lord Jesus Christ like that. Imagine the miracles! Imagine the witnesses and testimonies! The lame man jumped for gladness when he was healed. He praised God. Imagine the revival that would sweep through the nations if such happened in 2013.
Indeed, we hear of certain miracles once in a while and blessed if we have a chance to witness one. It takes great faith and the first of the Christians had such. What then became of it? The Bible says if we were to have faith the size of but a mustard seed we could move mountains. It truly causes us to take a hard look at ourselves and question where we stand in our walk with Christ.
Some may argue that it was only while Jesus walked the earth that such miracles did happened. But have you not heard that He is with us now? Even unto the ends of the earth. We may not be able to see Him with our eyes but He is ever present, and we can witness His work in our lives if we just let Him lead... if we but have a little faith.
Be not afraid to proclaim His name. Be not afraid to pray for the sick. Pray and have faith. Dare to speak such words as "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." For it is when we do that, we will start to see miracles happen. We will start to see mountains move. We will start to see Christ ever existing and working in our lives and in our midst.
So dare to have a little faith!
Monday, July 29, 2013
I want to do it ALL
Faces of those who couldn't escape suffering. Their pain and sorrow echoing in their eyes as their weakening bodies bore the burdens of illness and hunger and abuse. How could we have it so easy and they from birth be dealt such a terrible hand? So many didn't even have a chance to save their lives.
What I wouldn't give to wrap them in a warm blanket or feed them a bowl of hot soup or give them to drink a cup of cold, clean water. What I wouldn't give to put a smile on a child's face.
Suddenly I realize, I want to do it all. It doesn't matter anymore if their life is on the line at that very moment. They've been waiting their whole lives to be loved. Who says they have to wait until they are dying?
I want to be like Jesus. I want to show them His love. I want to shower them with it and watch as His joy anoints them and His hope rains down on them. The promise of a new day. A better day. I want to be there when they smile and find out that Jesus loves them. I want to be the one to tell them. I want to hold them and tell them that I love them.
Swaziland - A Voice for the Voiceless
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
When He prayed for us...
Many people know this chapter as the passage where Jesus prayed unto His Father concerning the Church. Laced within every phrase is Christ's love for us manifested. He was on His way to Calvary and despite the little time before Him, He took the time to pray for us.
Imagine the prayers He speaks to the Father now? Even as He sits on the right hand of God, in full glory and majesty, still He hears us and sees our struggles. He prays not for us to be relieved from the pain and sorrow of this world, but for us to be delivered from the evil of it (vrs 15). We are His children and the sheep of His pasture. He has sent us into this world but not that we should be swallowed by it. For we are not of this world - we are of His Kingdom - only ambassadors of the Gospel of peace.
We are to be sanctified through the Truth. And what is that Truth? The Word of God. Let us therefore be sanctified through His Word. Abiding in His Word. Taking it to heart and letting it change our lives. Strengthening us and equipping us for the task at hand; to share the Gospel to all we meet. To seek out the chosen and show them the way to Christ, to life eternal.
Christ did not pray for our deliverance from heartache, but rather as He was on His way to Calvary, He prayed for us to be strengthened. He prayed for us to be courageous, to carry on the mission that Jesus Himself had begun... in bringing the Gospel to all. Even unto the ends of the earth.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
A new dedication...
This week my prayers will be for Uganda. Northern Uganda to be exact. Over 3,000 children are currently suffering from an illness called Nodding Disease. The medical teams still are unsure of exactly what is causing these breakouts as the children will experience physical stunting, seizures and brain damage from it. They believe it has something to do with a deficiency in vitamin B6 and the parasitic worm Onchocerca Volvulus, which causes river blindness and is carried by the Black Fly.
I will be posting weekly these countries and would be over joyed if you could join me in praying for these people.
We are so blessed to be safe and warm, with a roof over our head and food in our bellies. Our life may not be perfect and we may even lose a job or house, but compared to these people we are abundantly blessed.
Let us therefore, join hearts and hands to be a voice to the voiceless. Let us take a stand and seek our Lord and Savior on their behalf. Let us love this world as Jesus did.
For more information on the Nodding Disease in North Uganda see below -
http://www.ebony.com/black-listed/wellness-empowerment/ugandan-children-suffering-disabling-disease#axzz2ZiSziubS
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/world/africa/uganda-nodding-disease/index.html
Saturday, July 20, 2013
In the blank spaces
I recently experienced one of these some time back. At first it was terrible. I was so anxious. I wanted to do something with my life. I wanted to go somewhere and now. I didn't want to wait even another day. I was restless and worried. Most of all I had my eyes focused on the past with no hope or care for the future. I was honestly convinced - I know it's weird - that the Lord would return in the year 2012. I thought there was no point of planning a life past that because it would never exist. As you can imagine my surprise when January 1st 2013 rolled into view.
I realized that I had wasted so much time just sitting around and refusing that there could be a year past 2012. I realized that it had kept me from coming to know the calling God had for my life. It kept me from pursuing this calling. It kept me looking back and wishing I could turn back the clock of time, sure that time was soon to be up. Boy was I wrong.
So what happened after I realized I could have a future? I saw myself helping the poorest of the poor and most needy in unnamed villages of far away places... yet I didn't know how to get there. I didn't know where I had to start.
I prayed for months seeking guidance. I searched the web for organizations and programs that would get me out into the mission field. I dreamed dreams and sought the advice of other missionaries. While many roads presented themselves, none seemed right. I thought I was just being indecisive and unmotivated. I thought I would lose interest and eventually give up searching. I prayed but it seemed no one answered. Until I finally typed in the url to a link I had received - and later forgotten - months before.
DoctorsWithoutBorders (MSF). While not Christian, they do bring hope to the most needy. They are the voice of the voiceless. I realized that I could do that and, with shining the light of Christ, be a witness to so many.
But I needed training. They were not amateurs in their field and neither could I be. I needed four years of training to be exact and another two of experience. Thus I start my journey of becoming a nurse, beginning with my generals at the local community college.
I am excited to begin in the fall and with this new dream ahead of me I can now look ahead instead of behind. I still cherish the past dearly but I do not live in it. I do not desire to bring it back but rather to take on tomorrow.
My point brings me to, first off: DO NOT ASSUME THE DAYS OF YOUR FUTURE BUT RATHER EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED. Don't be narrow-minded of what you think tomorrow holds, keeping you from truly understanding what could and what God wills to happen.
Secondly: WHEN YOU SEEK HIM AND HIS ANSWER IS "WAIT"... THEN WAIT. Do not take your life into your own hands. His timing is perfect and those seasons in your life when it seems like all your doing is waiting for an answer, don't lose hope. These are the blank spaces of your life. But in truth they are more important than we can know. They are to prepare, to equip, to strengthen and to draw us closer to Him. To wait on the Lord is to seek Him and yearn for Him. It means to abide in Him and lean only on His understanding. It means to trust.
Don't take these times for granted. Don't waste them. Use them as an opportunity. Fill these blank spaces with a passion to seek God and shine His light to all you meet.
Take heart therefore. Be not anxious or impatient but anticipate the wonderful plans God has for your future. He does have plans for you. Plans He wrote out before you were born. Plans that He is overjoyed to begin in your life. So rejoice! Take joy that you have a promising future with Him.