boxes

monday afternoon found me on I-65 headed down an all-too-familiar route to auburn. i have taken this trip numerous times over the past four years, but this trip was different. this time my car wasn't full of groceries my wonderful parents bought me or a weekend bag of clothes from a visit at home, this time i had four cardboard boxes ready to be shipped to hong kong. it was/is crazy to think that the next time i open those boxes i'll be in hong kong serving alongside some of the most incredible people i've ever known. i am confident that God has great things in store for the people of Hong Kong, and I pray that He would do more than we could possibly ask or imagine in the hearts of people there.

tuesday night most of the team, family and friends had dinner together at conerstone to connect and pray with one another. one of my favorite parts of the night was when matt took time to share the heartbeat of grace campus. it was in those moments that the Lord drew my heart deep into His own all over again and reminded me of His desire to see the nations return to His throne. it's totally bizarre apart from the gospel to have a burden for people that you've never seen much less interacted with, but my heart is breaking for hong kong. i can not wait to be there. i can not wait to be a part of God's story in that city. i can not wait to see how He grows and connects our team as we serve alongside one another. i can not wait to experience the joy He will bring as Chinese students come to know His perfect love. whatever challenge or circumstance we meet along the way, i have faith that God is making us more like Jesus as we turn to Him for comfort and rest and peace.

wednesday morning our team met at the dean's with our boxes. after boxes and furniture had been numbered from 1 to 230. we [let's be honest. "we" translates into "the guys". p.s. thank you for working so hard wednesday, y'all did a great job] lined up the boxes in a duct tape layout of the crate and got everything ready to be packed. wednesday by 4, our boxes began the journey to hk. we're one step closer and more excited everyday.

i can't wait to open those boxes.

5

I continue to find God in the thread. A lot has changed this year. In this season of my life, change has been closely followed by brokenness. Being broken sounds so negative. I pray that this thought isn't overwhelmed with a sorrowful tone. This broken feeling that I have come to know over and over again throughout the past year has allowed God to be the mender of me. He gently took the parts of me that had been broken and sewed them back together. With each stitch instilling a deeper knowledge and understanding of who He is. I still don't have an answer to every question or for things that have happened. But as I learn daily to walk in faith and obedience, I am also learning a lot about trust. And I am learning what it means to trust him with all the parts of me. Even the ones that are broken and don't seem to fit. And as I walk in the light of who He is, I begin to see more thread. I look at all the different pieces joining together in ways I never imagined and I see more evidence of Him in this vessel that he has gently mended back together to look more like him.

avoiding winter

Winter has started to move into Auburn and I am so excited. The end of fall and beginning of winter is my favorite time of year. So many good things come along with winter: jackets, hockey, coffee any time of day, smores, fire in the fireplace, scarves, Christmas time... it's fantastic. As i made my way across campus today, I noticed that multiple people were in complete denial that winter has arrived. It is currently 54 degrees in Auburn, it's not ok to be wearing shorts and a tank top with rain boots today. It's cold. People are funny this way though, I feel like sometimes when change comes without expectation people continue on how they were before in efforts to stunt the incoming differences that will be met at the face of the change. The range of examples are as wide as the range of different changes we all experience. I feel like my life has changed so much in the past year and lately I've been learning how to live one day at a time and live with two expectations: for the Lord to guide me and show me how His renown can be evident in my life. I am asked more than once everyday what my plans are for the next year and with a smile on my face I have finally been able to confidently say "I have no idea, but the Lord has a plan so I'm trusting in that".[jeremiah 29:11-13] . It's not been an easy journey to be able to stand in that comfort, but the journey has been worth while and it's done nothing but lead me back to a place of surrender. This place that I stand in could be seen as lonely and dark. But in the light of who He is to me, it's one of the most beautiful places of uncertainty I've ever been. The word says to "be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" [psalm 27:14]. So I'm clinging to the truth that while He has shut doors of opportunity, and while I'm waiting for Him to open new ones that He is shaping me to look more like Himself. He wants so much more for us than we can ever imagine. So take heart and wait on the Lord. He wants to walk through change and newness with us. He is enough. He is bigger than our situation. He is bigger than our hearts. He loves us. Embrace the winter. Embrace change. Embrace His infinite wisdom in your circumstance.