More Than Just Middle Earth

I have been in New Zealand for a week now and it has been beyond lovely! I’m staying with Rosemary, a friend of my father’s from YWAM in the 80’s.

Rosemary and my dad in 1984 on outreach in LA

This has been an incredible time of rest, of refreshment and of renewal. It’s been a blessing to have someone who has years of knowledge in everything I’ve been experiencing to process with and simply enjoy this beautiful country with. I’ve noticed that although talking about hard things is helpful, it is almost more helpful to just be able to live life in a way that is different from the last 6 months and realize that it is still full of joy. I hadn’t realized the amount of stress I had put myself under, but now that the adrenaline has died down a bit, my body has informed me quite clearly that it is time for a break. I got the message loud and clear. I have been sleeping in, going to the beach, doing touristy things (Hobbiton was the first thing on the list. I also got to see where they shot scenes from Narnia, which I didn’t even know should be on the list),

 

Celebrating Waitangi day like a Kiwi

and playing a lot of guitar. I just heard from Tim that he’s back in Jamaica, which is extremely exciting in the department of getting to talk to him at all. I’m gearing up for the whirlwind of coming back home and getting swept up in seeing friends and family and getting started on the next phase of life. God keeps reminding me that this next season is a very unique one for me. Learning not only the principles of humility and selflessness, but also of rest. As the doctor I had to see here told me, I can’t take care of everyone else if I don’t take care of myself. I have always been the type to be constantly busy, and I already have a ridiculously long list of things I want to be doing during this next year. However God has insisted that I need to simply do what He tells me, no more and no less. Otherwise, I’m no longer following Him, I’m working from my own strength and I will surely tire myself out all over again. This is a season of preparation, and I can’t do it my way. I’ve changed a lot as a person during this time, but this change of mind frame might be the most noticeable in everyday life. 

Going to the beach #NewZealandNationalDay