Peekabo! I See You!

I was a little nervous about my trip to Austria. There were only going to be a few women attending, and my experience on this same trip last year was not very good. I asked several people to pray that it would be positive and that God would "meet me there".

The entire week was amazing. I know that word is tossed around non-chalantly…but it truly was. Around every corner it seemed God had a little surprise waiting for me. I could sense He was wooing me to Himself. How I love to feel wanted and cared for! I did not even realize how tired I was, until He gave me rest. I did not recognize how heavy my heart had become until He caused me to laugh all the way down a mountain. I did not see that I was holding myself back from Him until He presented me with the opportunity to hand Him control of my life…again. He knew my every need before I did and He cared for me boldly.

Toward the end of our retreat, my heart was overflowing with His joy. I was consumed with His amazing love for me, and I was thanking Him for it. That’s when I heard it. It was not a tangible voice, but this clear sense of His voice saying, "Enjoy this refreshment. You’re going to need it, because it is going to get hard." Immediately, I was afraid. What is it, Lord? What’s going to happen? … Then I realized, He said, "Enjoy this refreshment." So, I chose to ignore the nagging sense of sadness and to appreciate the moments of the day at hand. "Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough worries of its own.

We arrived home Friday afternoon. Today is Tuesday and I have received three completely different sets of difficult news. At the announcement of the first, I was sad- very sad- but I recognized it was of the Lord. He had prepared my heart. He had reminded me that He prepares the way before me and that He walks the path with me. My heart is heavy with the pain of loss and change. My heart aches for the physical and emotional suffering that God allows to enter our path sometimes. My heart clings to the hope that He is ALL I need.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the LORD…Be still, and know that I am God…" Ps. 46:1-3, 7, 10