Peacefully Leaping into the Unknown

Today I took a walk around Peace Valley Park. This time I was prepared with my water bottle and sneakers (unlike when Bekah and I decided to spontaneously go around the lake and two hours later we made it to the end with blisters and dehydration in tow). It was such a beautiful day! The leaves were dancing, the skies were blue and so clear and the wind was blowing....what rich colors -- greens and blues! The lake was being blown about by the wind. It the middle were the ridges on the water but the edges where the wind was hitting it directly, the water looked like glass -- smooth and straight. As I looked at the lake I thought of the peace that comes when the Spirit is directly moving in your life. The places of the lake where the wind was hitting directly were smooth and I was praying for the kind of peace that was a direct result of the Spirit whispering so close to my heart.

What a season of trust God has brought me to! I am totally dependent on Him -- He's called me to go to Peru and I'm waiting to see how God will bring it into reality. It's such a burden to think about raising the funds that you need to live for 3 years. I guess the point is to realize that it's not my burden to carry but His. He is the one who called me and He is the one who will provide! So, I've said goodbye to my old life and there's no turning back. I took a leap of faith and now I'm just waiting to see how God will bring it all about.

Here's an appropriate quote for this time in my life (provided by the aforementioned friend) :

"The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future. The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it His presence and His promise."

Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust