Driving to the airport yesterday from Santiago gave me a lot of time to reflect on the life I was going back to. As I thought about my reality and perspective before spending a week with the loving, generous and welcoming Dominicans I began to fear returning and falling back into the same self-focused, self-dependant way of life. Just as I had brought clothes, shoes and Bibles from home to leave in the D.R. I wanted to bring home more than 6 boxes of skim ice and tons of pictures documenting the memories we made. I wanted to bring back some of the Dominican values and priorities. I learned so much from the people I was there to serve and minister to. These things I did not want to forget to the point that no change occurs and I fall right back into the same patterns of our society. God revealed to me though that rather than fearing I needed to resolve to be transformed by my renewed mind. To make such drastic changes in a world that is full of distractions, pressures and lies is too difficult to achieve on my own but that is where dying to my flesh and being led by the Spirit becomes most important. Devoting an entire week to growing in the Lord and making Him known was so fulfilling. After all it was a taste of the abundant life God created us for. John 10:10 says that the enemy comes to seek, kill and destroy and He uses the distractions, pressures and fears of the world to deceive us and take our focus off of God. God has come though that we may have life and have it abundantly. Having time away from the things the enemy uses to distract me at home (agendas, fears, anxieties, selfishness.....etc) and to be outwardly focused when my inclination tends to be self-focused gave me an opportunity to get a taste of a much sweeter life. A life that I want to become my new reality. In the Dominican Republic people are truly dependent on the Lord for their daily needs. Their concerns are all about surviving and so they go to the source of life to give them the resources they need: food, water, a home, a job, money...etc They place their hope in the Lord rather than the things we place our hope and security in daily ( people, money, ourselves, our goals and successes) We go to these sources that fail us and never satisfy while they go to Jesus who will never fail us but will fully satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. Focusing on God aligns our heats with His as we discover what really matters~ the purpose that He has created us for. We go to well for water that will eventually dry out but God desires for us to believe and live like we believe that He is the source of living water~ a fountain that keeps on flowing. "This water that Jesus offers us will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14) He will do immeasurably more than al we could ask or imagine in and through us when drink of His living water. When we drink of this water Jesus promises that we will never go thirsty again. We will be like a well-watered tree that thrives and branches out to reach others, bearing good fruit. That is the kind of person that I want to be1 Filled with the Spirit so that I can reach out to meet the needs of those around me in my family, friends, community and throughout the world. That is what we were created for was to make an impact for the kingdom of God. My relationship with the Lord can not stop at filling me up but it must outflow into the lives of others. We are but cracked jars of clay until God,our potter fixes our cracks and restores us for His purpose. Each of us are unique yet filled by te same God to overflow with His love, grace and power! Some of my favorite memories from the trip were feeding the kids at the hole, getting to share my testimony with the girls at basketball camp, visiting the Monton's home, worshipping the same God in two languages, and just serving and having community with my brothers and sisters in Christ! The last thing I can have all the time at home if I keep my eyes on Jesus~ pursuing Him alone and aligning my heart with His. I want the abundant life my god created me for. he promises that when we seek Him passionately we will discover it! I want to challenge you to do the same and I am sure that when you take hold of that life God intended us to live you will not want to turn back. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go on this trip for the lessons God taught me.
~Love, Hil
