Learning

What God has been teaching me:  I have been back on US soil for less than a week.  It was a hard week.  It was a comfortable and yet uncomfortable week.  It was a sad week.  It was a week spent sleeping.  And shopping.  I constantly have two languages in my head.  Two cultures.  Two ways of living life fighting inside of me.  I am so happy to be in Oregon, yet my soul is longing for another place.

I was cranky this week.  I was mad at God for taking me away from Santiago when He did.  But He has a reason.  He always does.  Thursday I finally pulled out my prayer notebook and gave some things to Him, and I felt slightly less cranky.

Even in my unfaithfulness and grumpiness, God still has been teaching me some interesting things.  "Coincidences"  that could only come from our Good, Good, Father.

The day I left, one of my friends told me that God will reveal what's next for me.  She said that God will make the path straight and clear.  A different friend randomly told me to read through Proverbs 3.  These words popped off the page.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."  Proverbs 3:5-6  

The exact same verse.

I have been reading through Jesus Calling, one of my favorite devotional books.  God connected this devotional with some other comments from people throughout the week.  One of the days the main text was Luke 12:22-31.  The passage talks about how we need not worry.  This week I went to the doctor's office and I had a little freak out when I couldn't fill out the line that said "Employment."  I have no job lined up after this summer.  I have no source of income.  When I was talking to someone about that this week, they said their devotional was about Matthew 6 - the exact same passage about not worrying.

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  Matthew 6:33  

"Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things [food, water, and clothing] will be added to you."  Luke 12:31 

One of my girlfriends and I have been talking about love and marriage recently.  One of the verses she shared with me before I left the DR was 1 John 4:18.  This week the verse came up again on one of the days in Jesus Calling.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear."  1 John 4:18

Lastly, someone told me to read Psalm 84 today.  One of my favorite verses is verse 5.  It talks about how we are blessed when our strength is in the Lord, when we cannot do it on our own.  The Jesus Calling passage for today talked about how weakness is a good thing because it draws us close to Him.  Our weaknesses create an intimacy with us and the Lord.  One of the verses in the devotional for today says,

"I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid.  The Lord himself is my strength."  Isaiah 12:2

I have been praying that God puts me in an amazing community of believers this summer.  One of the reasons I love the Dominican Republic is that I have some really awesome friends who point me to Jesus.  A old friend from high school who I haven't connected with in years sent me a FB message asking if I wanted to come to her women's small group on Friday nights and the college group on Tuesdays.  God, You are SO faithful and SO good.

Tomorrow I start my first day working at the church in Oregon.  Excited and nervous to see what God is going to do.

Con mucho amor.