It has been a long time since I last wrote on this weekly blog. The month in Guatemala, coupled with visiting family, and new job responsibilities has made it difficult. More than that though, I was sitting in a season of grumbling. I was moaning about injustices. I was moaning about all the annoying parts of living in the Dominican Republic. I was moaning about relational difficulties. I was moaning about disunity. But in the midst of that, over and over again, I knew that Jesus was gently nudging at my heart, telling me to come to HIM, for rest, but I would angrily hiss back, “your yoke isn’t easy, and your burden is anything but light!” I promised to be transparent in these blogs in the hopes that I can encourage other clay pots. Certainly not because I like it, on the contrary, it pains me to share my sinful rebellion. With that awareness, I still chose to feel sorry for myself, but I wasn’t fully aware of the sin inside my heart. Maybe these
This week has been a very busy one as Andrew and I prepare to transition to Guatemala for a month for language training. This week has been one of wrestling through this idea of what it means to love, and more than that, what is a biblical definition of hate? 1 John 1 contrasts light and dark, as well as love and hate. vv. 9-11 read, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” God has been teaching me a lot about His love for a couple years now. These instructions have come through the picture of a shepherd affectionately caring for, and intimately knowing his sheep. They have come through sun shadow hearts on trees, and recognizing more intimately that Jesus died i