in a nutshell

this is my escape

Then said Almitra, Speak to us of Love. And he raised his haed and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yeild to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of cord he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, thay you may bcome savred bread for God’s sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the screts of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart. But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, ut not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.” And think not you can direct the course of love, for love ifit finds you worthy, directs your course. Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night, To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hours and meditate love’s ecstasy; To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the eloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

—The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

just to catch you up

Well, I really don’t even know where to start.  I haven’t written anything in here in really long time, but that’s because I have been having an incredible summer full of so many amazing opportunities to grow.  My summer started off with a trip to Moldova.  Moldova is the smallest and poorest country in eastern Europe.  I was there with 10 girls for 17 days and we worked with a couple human trafficking organizations, orphanages, in the villages, and in the public schools.  I cant even being to explain how my eyes were opened on the trip.  Not only were my eyes opened to how corrupt the country is, but they were also opened to how the presence of God is so tangible there.  God seeks out the least of least, and Moldova definitely meets those standards.  It’s weird to say that the country is so broken and at the same time say that God is present there, but it’s true.  I believe that God is sending people to rise up in that country and make a change and I am so thankful that I got to be a part of that for 17 days.  There is so much that I could say about Moldova, but I will leave you with this.  Yes, the country is broken, yes, they are incredibly corrupt, BUT, God can bring healing and redemption to anyone and any place, and that is the absolute only way this country and it’s people can be saved.  So, I simply ask that you pray for them and for God to reign down on them, and I am so excited to see what God is going to do there.  The day after I returned to Nashville from Moldova I moved to Memphis to work with a youth group for the summer.  I knew no one and I was incredibly jet lagged, so to say the least, I had a pretty rough time the first couple of days.  Soon after I got there my loneliness and exhaustion began to fade away.  There were still things that were hard like figuring out how to make a long distance relationship work and missing the people I love from home, but God filled me with so much energy and peace about my decision to live in Memphis for the remainder of the summer.  God taught me so much.  I learned how to love people more, teach, serve better, lead, and how to keep my faith rooted in the Word.  I loved the church and the people I got to work with.  Their mission and their youth group is incredible.  I was able to teach a class for 10th graders on Romans every Sunday and it was amazing to see all that God taught me through that.  I guess I’ve always read verses in the Bible and read books about the Bible but I’ve never really sat down and just read the Bible.  I have started reading it more now and its incredible how my faith is being stretched and my eyes are being opened.  This morning I read Mark 4 and I read the parable of the sower and the seeds.  It really stuck out to me this morning how important it is to have yourself rooted in “good soil.”  Honestly I feel like thats what I was learning over and over again all summer.  I learned about surrendering and about building my faith on never failing foundation of God’s word.  That will be my goal for this year, to trust God more, to surrender fully to him, and to constantly be in the Word.  I am so thankful for all that I got to do and see and learn this summer.  I cant wait to see where God leads me next.