Still…

This past year no doubt has been quite a doozy for all of us.

We have all faced things we thought we would NEVER see.
Including our own personal, dark nights of the soul.

Covid-19 has stirred many different emotions and brought much reflection and revelation.

In the midst of watching our world navigate a pandemic and a presidential election thrown in…
We’ll just say… the year has been tricky.

Other words come to mind as well. 

Words like…
Confusing
Disorientating
Dishonoring
Frustrating
Unsettling
Scary
Lonely
Heartbreaking
And exposing… very exposing.

Exposing regarding the condition of our world…
But even more so regarding our foundations.

Our heart’s footing.

I can only speak for me.
I have cherished many beautiful gifts birthed during this season,
But this last year has put a microscope on some inner deficiencies…
Strokes painted into my story long ago…
Some by choice and others simply by lineage.

I could share all the challenges we have faced, and we have faced many…
But they are no greater challenges than anyone else’s.
They are simply… different.

Pandemic or not…
I am incredibly thankful for my blessings.

We choose to fight to keep gratefulness alive in our home…
Knowing full well, rehearsing the hard rather than fixing our eyes on the surrounding abundance will always tempt.

But, gratitude is something that can’t be stolen by a virus, however, much like living water…
It can be willfully neglected.
Today as I sat with Adam at our kitchen table…
I shared how much I deeply missed community.
I am so thankful for each heart God has sweetly knitted to ours.
A year without our little church body has certainly left a mark.

With ever-shifting regulations and shutdowns…
Our hearts miss…
And I long to be used.
I continue to dream of leading others into the only true Hope I will ever know.

Many have asked how our little, 3rd world country is doing…

My only real answer regarding our people would be the same for my own heart…

Still…

Still walking…
Still trying…
Still fighting…
Still seeking…
Still waiting…
Still desperately longing…

Still HOPING.

The same is true regarding what I am learning about true hope and true faith…
You have to KEEP choosing to STILL have it.

Romans 8:24 makes this tenderly clear…

“But HOPE means that we must TRUST and WAIT for what is STILL unseen.

For why would we need to hope for something we already have?”

This season has been revelatory regarding the importance of this little word and putting it into practice.

It is easy to keep “still” alive when all is smooth sailing, and all the desired outcomes are delivered to you on a silver platter.
But to be very honest, I have not experienced this.

So many times I have hoped with great faith and expectation only to not receive the answers I thought would surely come…
Leaving me instead with a simple invitation…
The same invitation our friends accept right In the middle of daily darknesses…

Keep walking…
Keep waiting in great faith for that which is STILL unseen.

This has been a trying season for all.
I pray for revelation’s light more than ever as well as bold perseverance in the midst of the clouds.

I know this isn’t really an update…
But honestly… what I feel is way more important than the details of our lives…
Is a call to stir up the embers of remembrance regarding the importance of being “still faith-filled believers,”

To reissue the call to re-embrace Galatians 5:6.

At the end of the day… the end of the world… the end of this pandemic…
The ONLY thing that will matter…
Is FAITH expressing itself through LOVE.

Scripture says it’s the ONLY thing that counts.

I ask today… and each day we are brought to your mind and heart…
Please pray we would be found exercising this 5 letter word with great faithfulness.
Still.

Our beloved Ticos have been my beautiful teachers during this crisis…

Their lives have been the sermon.
“Still” is not optional and gratitude is essential.

We are thankful for each of you and dearly love you.
Your love, encouragement, and support have blessed us more than we can communicate.