Ten Years Later. . .

It took me by surprise when I realized that I was standing in the exact same spot I had stood 10 years ago. Ten years ago when my life was about to drastically change it all started on that corner in Mission Beach, San Diego. And here I was again.


The last time I had been there I was a junior in high school and life was kind of falling apart. My family was about to move to a different state and I felt like I was losing everything, but for a week none of that mattered because I was going on my very first mission trip. As I sat with my friends in San Diego we were prepared for what God would have in store for us that week, but I had no idea that it was going to be the week that changed the entire direction of my life.


I remember that trip so clearly. It was the kind of mission trip movies are made about. The kids chasing the van each morning, the relationships built with the locals, and the mentorship of a local leader who challenged me to use my skills and gifts and to let the voice of God enter into the chaos that was my life back home. Everything in that moment was perfect because it was the moment God used to call me to His will. My heart was stirred and my direction was changed. I knew right then that missions was what God was calling me to do. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that He wanted me to work among other cultures, and my "dream" became building a youth center for teenagers in Mexico.

Things were changing in my life, and I had no idea what the next year, or 10, would bring as I sat with my friends on that corner in San Diego. 



Fast forward 10 years (my goodness, TEN years!) and I am standing in that same exact spot with a bunch of high school students, who are almost exactly the age I was when I stood there before. I'm now working at a youth center on an Apache reservation and it hits me that God has returned me to the place where it all began. With exhilaration I realize that I am doing exactly what God called me to do and He has brought me to this place with the students He has called me to serve. 



With a soaring in my heart I realize that 10 years later I have returned to the spot of my calling, living fully in His plan for my life. It was surreal. It was amazing. It was a moment of understanding and gratefulness, and it was a moment of peace.


When I stand by the ocean it always brings me peace. As I stare out at the vastness of the sea I am reminded of how much God controls, of how much beauty He has in His hands. And I think to myself, if God can control the waves of the ocean, how could I not believe that He also has control over the chaos of our lives? What peace it is to remember how many great and chaotic things He cares for and how well He cares for them all. 

As I stood by the ocean this time I knew, with such certainty, that He had been guiding me back to this point all along. 


Comments

  1. I have goose bumps. I am so proud of you and the way you have followed God's calling for your life. I know it is not easy. You inspire me.

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  2. Wow. This is so amazing. Gods love for us is so deep

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