Seasons

Seasons.

Time.

Most people have heard the verse in the Bible that says there is a time and a season for everything. I have experienced seasons in my life, but I have never experienced one like this. Ecclesiastes 3:1-14:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

I've had my times of laughing here.

I've had my times of weeping here.

My time in Mexico has been marked by times of great happiness and profound sadness. I have learned much about myself and my relationship with my Savior. My life has been forever changed by the things I have learned here from people I've met, places I've been, and things I've done. This season of my life is closing.

I don't want it to end. I want it to keep going. But verse 11 tells me that my time here is ending but my mission does not. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Every day I am being made more beautiful to Him and to others because it in His time, not mine.

Though I am leaving "the mission field", internationally at least, I am not leaving my calling: to tell others about Jesus. The next part of the verse says that He has set eternity in the human heart. How can I not tell others about Him, knowing they already have a longing in their human hearts? As a follower of Christ, I am called to share Christ with everyone I meet. I have taken satisfaction with the work I have done, but I am not yet done.

We've had team in this week from Ole Miss, and it's been wonderful to get to know them and make new friends. But they too have a mission field of their own back in the States, though we've been working along side each other for the Lord's Kingdom this week. I mourn for them leaving, but I rejoice in the work that has been done through and in them here because they too will have seasons in their lives.

Something else I have learned through all these seasons is how sufficient God is. I have had some difficult moments where mission life was not fun. It has been hard a few times. It has made me want to quit. But then I remember 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

In those times when I am weeping, He is my Comforter. When I am laughing, He is smiling along with me. When I am worrying, He is my Peace. When I am hurting, He is my Healer. His grace is sufficient for me in all that I do. When I mess up. When I succeed. His grace makes me perfect in my weakness in all the seasons of my life.

The Christian life is seasons. Seasons that are awesome. Seasons that are hard. Seasons that are failures and seasons that are successes. Christ did not promise seasons. But His grace is sufficient and made perfect in my weaknesses. So, I choose to remember that His grace is sufficient. That I am less, and He is more.

Huatulco

I apologize in advance if this post incites jealousy. It just might.

I have been incredibly blessed to work with some awesome people during my time here. The H's, Natasha, Ellen, Jennifer, the M's, and many others have enriched my life and changed it irreparably. I hope that I have left a small mark with them as well because they have been so influential to me. But our team retreat to Huatulco will probably be one of the time that I hold dearest about my time here. Between the company, the views, and the teaching I was able to sit under, I can safely say that I will never forget my time there.

Here's what happened: We loaded four children under the age of eight, two teenagers, four hands on, and two married couples into two vehicles. Then we drove seven hours on some of the windiest roads I've ever been on over the mountains to the south of Oaxaca. After seven hours in a car with very few stops, we reached.... Huatulco, Oaxaca, Mexico. I've never seen anything like it. It was mountains, and then suddenly, beach!

This is the beautiful house that we stayed in, Flor d' Mar or Flower of the Sea!

The view our of our "front door". Though there was no door.

The view form the palapa or roof hang out area.

Part of the house.

There were beautiful flowers everywhere!

The palapa in the top right of the picture, along with Natasha and Ellen's room to the left and Haylee's to the right.

The view from my room. Every morning. I didn't want to leave.

The beautiful picture window in the main house.

The main house.

Our view

Was this place not amazing?!? Props to Jeff for finding it and thanks again for allowing us Hands On girls to tag along! But, we didn't just look at the beach....

We went to it!

First day, first beach!

Day Two on the completely deserted beach. Amazing.

Then we came home. And kind of made Jackson sit in the floor most of the way home.

Not that you can tell by this picture, but we got pretty carsick... Ugh.

Our team. :)  The Fantastic Four.

What a beautiful place with such wonderful people. It was an experience I will never forget. I learned so much from my leaders who poured into us and into each other. Things I had never thought about, but once I heard them, I was convicted to change things in my life.

These people have all changed my life in some way. I can never forget them or my time here.