Happy 1st Anni Switzerland

A year ago, I was waiting in the airport to board my flight to embark upon a new adventure in the mysterious land of Switzerland. I sat there and cried looking out on the sunset in O’Hare airport, thinking about how my family loved to watch sunsets together and maybe in Switzerland they don’t have sunsets or I wouldn’t find anyone to sit with me and enjoy the beauty of nature. Seriously, I know I was a bit overdramatic.

This last year has brought about so many new experiences, that I would not trade for the world. Jetzt spreche ich Deutsch und e bitz Schwitzerdütsch. I have learned about the intriguing Swiss culture, which in turn has made me thankful for my dear American culture …ich mache Witz meine Schweize Freunde;).  I have seen breathtaking views and traveled to see 8 beautiful countries. I’ve made new friends from all over the world and tried to keep in touch with the old. Now all of these experiences have been great, but do not compare to what God has accomplished in my life and the lives of those around me.

Seeing a new country could never beat the high of seeing someone give his or her life to Jesus. Learning a new language does not compare to witnessing a person healed from an illness that they’ve been suffering from for 10 years. Being emerged in a new culture is nothing compared to God hearing the prayers of His children and faithfully answering them. Making new friends is great but (again) it doesn’t measure up to allowing God use you as a tool in someones life to bring His love for the first time to their life.

I’ve learned life can be a beautiful thing,  with or without God. There are always beautiful places to see, beautiful relationships to be had, and beautiful things to learn. The difference is that a life with God is rich. I like the example in the book The Shack, where William P. Young writes that we are like birds walking on the ground when we live in the world without God. When God comes into our lives we become birds that can fly. God created this life with the intention that we allow Him to work in our lives and teach us to fly. We miss living a life to the full potential that this world has to offer, when we live without God. Yes, we can see beautiful things, have crazy experiences, great relationship, but all of these things are ultimately enhanced when God enters into our walk with us.

Free Heart

This world is a beautiful place. When we step into a walk of faith with God it is the biggest adventure that a human being can take on. He pulls us into the water and takes us deeper and deeper through the underwater cave just so that we can come up on the other side and be amazed by His beauty. We have a Father For with God nothing is impossible. 

who knows our hearts so deeply and is willing to put us through some of the craziest obstacles of life just so we could see what we can accomplish when we hand our lives over to Him.

When we allow our hearts to truly believe this truth, miracles around us begin to take place. Barriers begin to break down and our resurrection begins. Heaven kisses earth and leaves an everlasting lip print on our lives. Only when we allow God to have control and enter fully into our hearts, do we begin to see and feel the full access of this world. We begin to see the true beauty of our existence and the impossible becoming the possible.

Blessings are Everywhere

How often do we overlook the simple things in life due to our minds being set on something that is in the distance. How often do we pray for things and become disappointed because we feel as if God is not answering our prayers. Could it be that we are simply not aware of the way He answers our prayers?
We have a God with a sense of humor and who works in many ways. He always responds to our prayers whether we realize it or not.
Looking back on my past 6 months, I’ve prayed very consistent prayers overall. For example, I’ve asked God to bring family and friends closer to Him, to break me so that He is more and I am less, to bring peace and healing to those around me, that I can see more of Him etc.

He has answered all of the prayers in one way or another.

He showed me that I should leave America to bring those around me in the States closer to Him. He is changing my family and friend’s hearts back home for His good!

I asked God to break me so that I can become less and Him more, He responded by challenging me in a variety of different ways coming to a foreign country, entering into a new community, and beginning a new stage of life. He has brought me to a deeper level of peace, which in His goodness, he knew that this was only possible by taking me through the pain of leaving familiar faces and a comfortable environment. He took away pride and selfishness where I didn’t know pride and selfishness resided in my heart. He did so only to replace it more with His Spirit.

I asked God to see His face and experience Him in a new way, and He allowed me to experience a sudden change in health and the thrill of being rushed into a sudden operation so that I can see His hand at work in my life. He provided me with His peace and love during it all, even more than I ever experienced before. He allowed it to happen so I was more aware than ever of His presence and the miracles He works in our lives.

Here are a just a few testimonies from my life of how God answers my prayers in interesting ways. Because I am human, I know that there are thousands of more ways God has answered my prayers, but I’ve been unaware of it because I am looking for a specific package.  My new favorite prayer to offer up to God is, “Help me not to miss out on Your blessing because it isn’t packaged how I expect.”

Blossom Where You Are Planted

It is so easy for humans to think, if only I were there I could be doing, achieving, or accomplishing that. If only we had this amount of money then we could do that and go there. If so and so were here then my life would be complete. It is natural for us to blame our unhappiness upon the things that are missing in our life rather than being content with all that God has given us.

These thoughts were convicting me this morning as I thought about where God has lead me. It is easy to sit and think what if I had done my Dietetic Internship and was on the path to become a Registered Dietitian, what if I decided to do a year of service what would my life look like? The questions may go on and on, but at the end of the day they do not matter because God called me to this moment in time for a purpose. The purpose may be as little as cooking lunch and helping out around the house or as big as leading a hundred people to Christ. Regardless of God’s purpose for my life, I must find the strength to do all things with great love.

It is not always easy to know our calling during a season, but there is one common thing that God calls us all to do which is, “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). I am a firm believer that if we put love before all else in our day, life as we know it would change. If we seek to do all things out of love and love the people, the tasks, and the environment around us fully and deeply, we will find everlasting peace and joy in our midst.

Once love becomes our number one priority, we can begin to blossom exactly where we are planted. Nothing will be able to hold us back from achieving exactly what we were meant to accomplish. We will not be left with the uncertainty of where we are, who we are with, and what we are doing. Rather, we will be left completely fulfilled.

So today lets be exactly where we are and love deeply what we are doing, regardless of how stressful, petty, mundane, or insignificant they may seem. Let us truly blossom where we are planted and know that God makes no mistakes!

Time Flies

Could you imagine getting to the end of your life, laying in a hospital bed thinking that you did nothing worthwhile with the life you’ve been gifted. Thinking about all the people you could have loved better, deeper, or stronger. Pondering all the lives that you could have changed with your words and actions. What an awful thought thinking that you wasted your life for self gratification and selfishness.

This thought has awakened me this morning, I’ve been examining my life and realizing my own self-pity and my bitter heart because of the situation I’m in. What a waste of time. God calls us into a personal suffering, he calls us into discipline so that our life may be of no concern for us.  Through this, His love enters the earth and freedom is achieved. 

Jesus gives us a perfect example in the garden of Gethsemane before the night he died. He humbly proclaims to God, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.” Jesus shows us that His life was not about Him, but rather the Fathers will to pour His love into the world. God wants to pour His love into the world through us. This can only be done through denying ourselves and persevering towards Him and his example of love. 

During college, I often enjoyed going on runs through cemeteries. It was so humbling to run and to see all of these people who have died before me and to think what came of there lives, what did they truly accomplish and how are they remembered in this life? It made me realize that life is only a moment between two eternities and that I want to do everything in my power to be obedient to God. 

Recently, I haven’t been aware of what God wills of my life. I realized this morning that if I were to die tomorrow, I wouldn’t be satisfied today of the accomplishments in my life. I want this coming year to be the most loving year I’ve ever had, I want this coming month to be a month of extreme growth for my heart for God, I want to be the most thankful that I’ve ever been today. This all may sound crazy and the perfectionist in me is coming out, but I know it is possible because it is God that lives in me. He has conquered death and brought life to this world, therefore He can accomplish amazing things through me when I accept the cup of suffering He offers!

God>Barriers

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

This is one of the most powerful verses for a Christian to hear and to truly believe. God’s love is more powerful than ANYTHING that we may come in contact with on this earth. There is nothing that can separate us from His grace. So this is great and all, but how can we apply this to our life? How can we truly feel that God’s love does not end when we mess up or are in an uncomfortable situation? How can we know that God’s love is not dependent upon the environment or atmosphere around us?

If you asked me this a month ago, I do not know if I would be able to give you a concrete answer. Since moving to Switzerland, I can see God’s love and grace preserving through the barriers that stand in my way. As I stated earlier, it’s been a challenge to be in a church community where English is not the main language spoken. I decided, through prayer and conversation with God, to continue to worship God regardless of the language that is spoken. After a week of being obedient, I felt God’s grace and love so strongly through a gathering with the Church community. 

God’s love and grace preserved through the language barrier that stood in my way. His Spirit overcame! He loves and cares so much for me and for you that there is nothing that will defeat His infinite love. By embracing His will rather than my own, He provided me with the fruits of the Spirit which are love, peace, gentleness, humbleness, kindness, generosity,etc. Even listening to conversations that I cannot understand, I am not frustrated or upset with myself but rather am filled with peace and love. I use the time rather to pray for those who are conversing before me. 

The most beautiful part of all of this is that this is God’s doing, not my own. If it were just me on my own I would be upset, hurt, and frustrated with myself. I would feel stupid for not knowing the language and not being able to speak to those around me. God has overcome me and is now the one living within my soul. He is the one that has given me the peace during difficult situations and the love for the people around me. Oh, God You are truly great!

The Paths of Life

As I overlooked the Lake of Constance in Germany yesterday, I thought to myself how the heck did I get here. I thought back to how my life was in grade school, then on to high school, and after college. I thought about all of the wonderful people I’ve met and had the opportunity to share life with. I pondered all the different paths of life I could have potentially took based upon the decisions I made. Most importantly, I wondered where has God’s hand been in all of this?

Was He walking right beside me even when I did not take the time to speak to Him? Was His Spirit alive when I cared for others all though I did not necessarily point it back to Him?

While putting this to prayer, I realized that He has been there, He has guided my every step and ensured that it was placed in the best place to grow and develop my soul into what He has designed it to be. God has called me to this season of life in Switzerland, He has called me to be amongst this community, a member of this family, and existent in this culture. He has called me to love above all else. God makes no mistakes. When we make ourselves available to be used by Him, His existence in our life is amplified. Our lives become an example for others to come into His love. 

Although we have freewill and may go down paths of life that may not be God-honoring, God’s grace can meet anyone, at anytime, and in anyplace. God reveals to His children the path of life and provides the everlasting joy when we enter into His presence, our true delight is with Him! He is truly amazing.