For me, this year began on a bus headed to Passion conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a great time of learning and being challenged. Some things I took away from the sessions included the ability to control my thoughts in order to change my heart's desires--and thereby changing my actions (Beth Moore), as well as the importance of keeping God at the core of everything I do (John Piper).
After Passion I felt that I had more practical tools to fight the sin I was struggling with in my life. I call it sin because it was something that was standing between me and God. Anything can be sin in your life if it gets in the way of your relationship with Him. Although I had these practical tools that sounded good in theory (and actually did help a great deal!) I still had trouble doing away with the sin completely. My trip to Chile was the final thing I needed to be rescued from that life... but I didn't know that yet.
I was feeling fulfilled and useful to God in the work I was doing with the youth at church. I loved being a support to them and I thought it would be much better for me to stay and continue that work than to travel so far away to an unknown country. I considered changing my major so that the trip was not mandatory, but thankfully, God knew better and He managed to get me out of the only environment I'd ever really known.
I boarded the plane on February 23rd kicking and screaming inside and with tear-stained cheeks outside. In the six hour wait at the airport once we'd landed in Chile I met a guy who'd also been at the Passion conference. It was God's way of reassuring me that He was with me in Chile too. Before the first week was over, I was in love with my new home. The people were more than friendly and welcoming, the culture was as slow and accepting as I'd dreamed, the Spanish was as beautiful as I'd expected, and the lessons I'd be[gun] learning were more valuable than I could possibly understand.
While there I learned things about myself: that I fear man rather than God, that I need to rid myself of my spirit of timidity and fear through trust in God, that preconceived ideas can be dead wrong, that God already knows everything and we must trust in Him, that our witness as Christ followers matters more than I'd realized. Chile became a sacred place for me. It was a fresh start. God had shown himself to me there. No one had ever hurt me there. I was safe. I was happy. I wanted to stay forever. But God's plan wasn't for me to continue living there. I'd apparently learned what He'd planned in advance for me to learn and it was time for me to return home and teach others.
Forcing myself to come home was one of the most heart-wrenching things I've done. But I knew it was God's will, and there's NO other place to live than in His will. The first few weeks at home were difficult to say the least. I started to lose sight of God's purpose in putting me where I was. My heart ached for my life in Chile, but I held onto my new-found confidence in Him and He proved himself yet again. He shielded me from returning to the life I'd left in February and He gave me the unbelievably amazing gift of a new relationship with a man who strives to follow God and who is capable of loving me as much as I love him.
Being in a relationship with someone with whom I can seek to follow God better is incredible. I highly recommend it ;) The "equally yoked" stuff is in the Bible for a reason. And it applies to more than just the Spiritual level. It also applies to maturity, intellectual, and emotional levels and probably any other levels you can come up with as well. :p You have no idea what a blessing this relationship has been to me. I'm enjoying every second. What's more is that I'm enjoying being an example and allowing God to work through me. May I never forget that His grace alone got me to this point and I have a responsibility to share the things I've learned with others.
Thank you, God, for 2011: The year You got me back on track. The best year of my life to date.
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