A journey where God, day after day, drenches me with an inexpressible joy. A joy that is overflowing in my heart and makes my smile radiant. A joy where I wake up every morning happy and ready to serve my Savior.
A journey that has taken me deeper into the ocean of God’s heart and His relentless love—a true, beautiful love more wonderful than anything I could ever imagine.
A journey where I am daily learning to utterly depend on a faithful God and to trust in HIS ways and plans over my own.
A journey where my Good Shepherd at times has lead me through valleys’ of death and green pastures with still waters
A journey where I have accomplished, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within me, parts of my calling and mission beyond my wildest dreams.
A journey that requires me to pick up my cross and follow my Savior. To daily pour out more and more of my self.
A journey that is far from over…
It seems so surreal to me that it is already June. This June is extra special because it is June 2011. When I was a little, wide eyed, carefree, barefoot, dancing around the playground with flowers in my hair—fifth grader dreaming about the wonders (*cough* unrealistic expectations) of middle school and the joys to come of one day being a high school student, I figured out what year I would graduate high school. June 2011 seemed so far away back then. Yet, here I am, 18 years old, holding tightly to the few days left I have of my childhood, but it keeps slipping through my fingers.
However at the same time, I can barely contain my excitement and my imagination is going wild with the possibilities of this new chapter of my life story that I am about to embark on. This year I have been learning about how God is the author of our life stories and how He promises, when we fully give up the pen to Him, to write a thrilling, one-in-a-million, set apart adventure story. Even in the short time that I have surrendered my life to Christ, He has taken me on the most incredible adventure. I have been loving on 1 Corinthians 2:9 this month:
No eye has seen, No ear has heard, no mind could fully understand, the amazing plans that God has for those who love Him
God has plans to use our lives in ways we could never fully understand. The life God has planned for us is not something we can accomplish in our own strength, wisdom, and love.
God has a plan for my voice. Even when the world says I’m not good enough.
God has a plan for my writing. Even when I don’t believe it myself.
God has a plan for my passion for public speaking to advance HIS Kingdom. Even when my friends and family think I should use it to advance my own kingdom.
God has plans for all the gifts and talents. Even when people say that my vision of impacting thousands or millions of people for the Kingdom of God is foolish dreaming and ridiculous. Yet, God has so graciously entrusted with me with all these gifts and He is going to work through me to do the impossible. Because is anything too hard for God?
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose ~Philippians 2:13
There is a quote I have written on my study bible (it is about ready to fall apart because I use it so much) that says, “No matter what we know about Jesus now, there is always more to be discovered and experienced. In fact, even eternity won't be enough to fully grasp His insurmountable glory and brilliance.”
God is an endless frontier. He is a frontier that no one has reached the end of or fully explored. I am constantly challenging and daring myself to go further. There is always more to be discovered and experienced. And so I devote my life to running deeper and deeper into this endless frontier. That is truly the set-apart adventure. Because as we go further into the never-ending ocean of God’s love the waters get sweeter and sweeter, life gets fuller and fuller, and my soul continues to overflow with an indescribable peace.
Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn't deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world. ~Hebrews 11:33-38
When you aim for the impossible, you are usually misunderstood, scoffed at, and at odds with the rest of the world. But what if our so-called impossible dreams are not impossible at all? That is the truths that I am holding on too as I enter into this new season in my life.
For the rest of June I will continue to blog about my reflections as I begin this new chapter of my life story and as I watch my childhood come to an end. God has put this subject on my heart and hopefully I can do my best to find the words to explain it all. It’s now officially summer for me. I am done with high school and my first two years of college. I have exactly three months before I head off for a new adventure in Seattle. I have no idea what the future holds but I do know: that it is wonderful to be in the hands of the living God…it’s a hallowed adventure of a lifetime.
Believing in the Impossible by the power of our Great God,
Heidi
(Pictures from Audrey Hephurn Complex tumblr)
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