There is something about meeting Jesus in the midst of your hurt and confusion that makes His presence so much more clear.

Picture this… It’s less than 12 hours from when you expected to be leaving for Nicaragua & the Lord throws a wrench in your plan. Due to some COVID-related reasons, we are unable to leave the country without further quarantine. Although this was very much a possibility, it was not what any of us had expected.

One of my squad mates, Asa, sat down with a few of us and read from Psalm 31 and just shared it as encouragement to each one of us. Verse 12 said “I am forgotten as though I were dead: I have become like broken pottery.” & It just hit me because that is exactly how I was feeling in that moment. Defeated & forgotten by the Lord because for what felt like the millionth time, things weren't going to plan.

Throwing a wrench in our plans is something that He seems to be doing over and over again lately. Leaving us to grieve, hurt, and question; yet he meets us in that hurt. He sees us where we are and He chooses to come there and remind us of His faithfulness. The next morning, our leaders turned on a worship playlist and we all went into time with the Lord together. 

As we worshiped, I felt the Lord telling me to give Him my hurt and let Him do something beautiful with it. I read in a book a while back book recently that spoke about pottery and the way potters use pieces from broken pots in new creations. By using broken pieces, it makes them stronger and more sturdy. I began praying that the Lord would take the broken pieces of my expectations and work them together to make me stronger, just as He has done over and over again. 

It was there on the floor of the training center, where we have been sleeping, eating, worshiping, learning, and spending every minute of time in, I met Jesus. He met me right in my hurt and I was reminded of His faithfulness through all of time. 

I worshipped and declared to the Lord that even though things don't look as I expected and plans change that He is enough for me. My mission field is not Nicaragua and now I get a few days to rest in a new place. We get time to grow together as a team, explore the Lord's creation, and even get to choose abandonment while we live lavishly in a new home in Cleveland Georgia.

He is faithful and good, not because of anything He has done but simply because that is His character and He stays true to His character. I am choosing to rejoice in His peace and find joy in the hard times. 

Please be praying for our squad as we work through this unexpected event and the Lord's plan reveals through time.