Thursday, July 30, 2009

the end is really the beginning

Today is the last day of debrief, and I'm sitting alone in the room where we've met for 3 days readjusting to being back in the States. It's strange to think that up until 3 days ago I had been in Ireland for two months. It's as if I dreamed the whole experience; it ended just as quickly as it began. 

Over these past few days, I've heard so many stories of funny and awkward experiences from all over the world, stories of how God moved, people coming to Christ, or struggling with the reality of sin. How do you put into words the fullness of all God did this summer? That's been my greatest struggle. I have stories, I have significant examples of God moving. But I feel that much of the significance of his work was in the little things that typically go unnoticed. My attempts to put into words the experience as a whole always seem to fall short, and in a sense, undermine the magnificence of it all. Suffice it to say then, that God moved. Simple, but the best way I can express this summer. God moved, just as he always does. I have been stretched, challenged, I have experienced an overwhelming love for a people, for individuals, that my heart has felt as if it were breaking, I have desired to share the full burden for a person that they would be free from the weight for even a moment, and I have learned to lean into the pain so that God could show me more of my sin and the extent to which I need Him to save me.

As for where to go from here, I don't know the plans He has for me, but I know that my purpose is simply to walk with God, and to be so sensitive to the Spirit that I will go wherever He leads me. This is the end of a summer; the end of a stage in my life. This is also the beginning of a life well lived for the glory of the Lord.

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