Lavender seasons 🍂💜

Thank you lovely people for your heart and support in this past season, each person I meet holds such a beautiful part of Gods heart and it’s such a joy to learn more about God through each of His children.

Seasons are so beautiful- often the term “seasons” in Christianity can seem cliche or overused but I’ve found I’ve come to love them. Gods been showing me seasons with Him in colors- generally colors I didn’t particularly like or restoring something through them.

This past season coming back from being overseas and into a discipleship school has been a very specific shade of orange. It has been the most challenging and stretching- learning a completely new dependency on the Lord, a whole new depth and challenge that forgiveness is, and a freedom mentally, spiritually, and physically.

Immediately moving to Georgia God provided me a lovely community. A dear lady I didn’t know very well ( who became one of my favorite roommates) saw me walking one day and she picked me up and took me to her ladies study and I knew right away it was home for the next season. The same night lady with a unique health issue got healed immediately after praying over her and I saw God move so many ways in that community since.

Community is something I now value deeply but depth in community is not cheep. Discipling others while being discipled by them at the same time was a whole new challenge- can you accept refinement and being called out by the people you not only see their flaws but also feel offended by? Is refinement worth pushing past what feels like injustice, unfairness, and not always the softest voice? Can you love others when they are completely disinterested in you as a person, when they actively use that sore spot you were vulnerable about against you? – whatever that thing is God is forever worthy.

Every challenge we go through gives us a deeper insight and opportunity to know Jesus better and more intimately- those small rejections against Christ in us that pale in comparison to Him can give us glimpses to know Him better.

Some of my most treasured difficulties and wrestle from this season started with the issue of pain. If Gods good why do bad things happen to His children? I spent Jan-Oct of this year broken and angry over this with God. He’s not afraid of our questions, our hurt even my accusation. I ended up doing my capstone for school on this subject completing a thesis on Psalm 73 and this issue- the answer I came to wrecked me and restored more then everything I could have even known . I would encourage each person to commune with God over heartbreaking concepts, invite Him to speak into that space, and watch The God of generations move.

In October I was talking with God and He was asking me to dream with him and what would are my dreams? After I described everything He prompted me with “ what if I ask you to go to the Middle East?” Let’s just say I was shocked- my initial though was absolutely not and then immediately after Lord that’s all I want to do if Your with me.

When I was in Guatemala last year The Spirit had told me I was going to go to Turkey and since I have been preparing to go and just open handed for whatever and whenever His plan is. So in response to what I thought was His ask I went through the process of applying to leave to Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Morocco in January.

After a couple of months I got denied from going, with the explanation being that they felt God was directing me to go a different direction. Honestly I was really heartbroken and felt lost and confused along with feeling strongly that I was still supposed to go. After some council it was advised to bring a team of people to pray into it further and reevaluate the decision and the result was still getting from God that He had another direction…

A few weeks later still confused and still sure about God wanting me to go to the Middle East eventually I was sitting in a hammock and saw a leaf way up in a tree that I thought was absolutely perfect… Y’all when I tell you this leaf was the most perfect leaf I’ve ever seen… IT WAS PERFECT! Anyway I asked God to let it fall off the tree so I could have it but it never did.

About 20 minutes after I got pretty badly injured and was in the hospital for days with infections, MRIs, surgery the whole 9 yards. One day after I had gotten home I got a text from someone’s parents I had met in Africa offering me a job in Florida. Absolutely insane… everything fell into place and I was in Florida three days later.

Being on mission is a lifestyle- it isn’t just about being overseas or with a specific organization- it’s about living life with God, being available to Him, to know His heart which is to love you and others and take that love to everyone you encounter.

This Lavender season Gods leading me in may not include going to the Middle East-eventually it will be, but just not now. Moving to an island in Florida and learning a new life with God on mission is something I never expected but here we are and I’m just excited to live this wonderful life with Him.

The last week of DLTA I was coming up to that same tree, heading to class and there was my leaf sitting on the ground- freshly fallen while all the others were dead- just sitting in the middle of the path. God is so faithful and cares about every single detail- how can you look for Him in the little things today?

Now for some honorable mentions from this season.