letting go

We have made it to El Salvador! It’s a little surreal to be here and to think that this is my life for the next 11 months. When I think of it like that, it’s easy to get a little overwhelmed but I know that God will give me the grace and courage to take this year one day at a time. 

We are staying in a sweet, cute, and fun little beach town! We are staying with a church that reaches out to the many surfers in this community. Our ministry contact shared with us that surfers here can feel unwelcomed in typical churches because they have a different style, for example, the long hair and beach clothes. We will also be spending a lot of time with an orphanage that this church supports. Maybe, I will try surfing while I am here! I’m pumped for an awesome month! 

When we first arrived into this beautiful country, we sat down with our wonderful ministry host, Andrea. We got to know her a little bit and her heart for serving the Lord, and one of the first things she told us was to be ready to Let Go and Let God. It seems like such a simple phrase that I have heard many times. But since being here, I have seen the little phrase come up over and over again. 

This year, there will be a lot of letting go. Some things may be great big things that are hard to give up, and some may be small, simple things. We will be letting go of seeing our families and friends whenever we want to. We will be letting go parts of ourselves, as God teaches us, grows us, and calls us into something better. We may be giving up past anger or bitterness as we experience God’s goodness. We may be giving up old wounds as we find comfort in the arms of our teammates and God. We will be giving up being clean, because no mater how hard we have scrubbed there still seems to be sand or dirt left somewhere on our bodies. We will be giving up having a mirror to see what we look like everyday. We will be giving up the comfort of air conditioning and a real bed to sleep on. But the joy is, is that the God who is always with us, will be present with us during this time. He will be holding our hands through it all. In Deuteronomy 31:6 God said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Right before Jesus left the earth, He told us “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” These are the promises that we get to hold on to. 

I was reminded of this whole concept of letting go a few days ago when I was with a few of my teammates in the ocean at sunset. The waves were huge and we had so much fun jumping around in them. I remember this one wave in particular was giant and I could see it from a little ways off. The giant wave came and hit me and instead of fighting the momentum of the wave, and as I was under the water, I decided to just let go and let the wave take me. It moved me to a new place. I was now no longer where I was before the wave hit me. And I think this whole journey with God is like that. I have to let go of some things so that God can take me to a new place where I have not been before. I have to let go so He can continue to transform me into a new person. 

I am extremely grateful and blessed to be going on this journey with God. Thank you all for your love and support to get me here! And I hope to keep you updated with what God is doing this year! 🙂