I have come to realize that saying yes, and giving my yes to the Lord daily are 2 totally different things. How have I learned this? I have learned this thru experiences, thru being put into situations where I have had to make decisions- and sometimes my answer is yes and sometimes my answer is no -when it comes to easier decisions like where I want to go to eat. However, when it comes to giving my yes to the Lord daily, it has proven to be a different story.
Rewind to a little over a year ago, right before Christmas I was preparing to move here to Guatemala and I got news that my grandma passed away. At that point in time I had been accepted to the Hineni program, I was hustling and working hard with raising funds, and I was preparing to end a season of life in Maui (ending a job, selling things, saying goodbye to family and friends etc) The loss of my grandma hit hard and I am so thankful that I was physically there with my mom when she found out. I was able to be with her thru it all, grieve with her, comfort her and be a part of the process. There were many thoughts going thru my mind during this time including- me asking myself if I should stay on Maui and not move to Guatemala, even though that is where the Lord was calling me. Little did I know the experience of my grandma passing right as I was preparing to make a big life changing move to another country would be the start of me learning how to give my yes over to him daily-even when its really, really hard.
If you have been following my journey in the past year at all you will know that I – in the end ultimately decided to still make the move to Guatemala and give my yes to the Lord! It was extremely hard to leave my mom after a loss so big took place in our family, but like I mentioned earlier- I am thankful that I was there with my mom when she got the news and I was able to be with her for a bit of time after to grieve with her, comfort her and help support her thru it! I will forever be thankful to the Lord for that time that I got with my mom before I got on the airplane and moved to a new country!
This past year (almost) it will be a year of living here on January 29th has been quite the journey! It has been full of ups, downs, challenges, blessings, growth, lessons and each day I have had the opportunity to give my yes to the Lord! Has it always been easy? Absolutely not. Have I seen beauty on the other side of giving my yes to the Lord even when its hard? For SURE!!! Have I grown because of giving my yes to the Lord when I wanted to say NO or throw in the towel and give up? 1000% YES!!! You might be wondering what some of the things are that made it difficult for me to give my yes, or my full yes to the Lord and there have been many things: Missing family and friends, mental health struggles, stress+worry about finances/fundraising- and those are just a few things. What helped me to continue pushing thru and giving my yes to the Lord even in the midst of challenges was knowing that the Lord never gives up on me, (so I shouldn’t give up on him) and he loves me right where I am at (where I was a year ago and where I am now) and he loves me so much that he doesnt want me to stay where I am at but he desires for me to grow, and if I just say no or throw in the towel instead of giving him my yes- I will only stay where I am at and I wont grow!
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
A big yes that I am giving to the Lord currently is getting vaccinated, I am praying on it and talking to him about it but if I am going to continue to travel and be his hands and feet overseas- I am going to have to most likely!
:Prayer Requests:
For my mental health, as well as my physical health
For my family and friends on Maui and in other states
For financial provision (monthly donors specifically)
For clarity on what exactly the Lord is calling me to do here in Guatemala and in the nations!
For Gods guidance and leading in what he wants me to do after Hineni
How can I be praying for you?
Please let me know!
