Becoming Unwintered: The Beauty of Springtime Blossoms

How did I forget that Spring had blossoms? 

The sound of mowers in the background, the smell of freshly cut grass, the feeling of wind rippling through your shirt on a bike ride, the neighborhood garage sales. This is spring.

I snuck home for a friend’s wedding and some family functions which just so happened to all be in one month! And I have been captivated by the trees here (ironic because I wrote a blog about the beauty of death [Fall]) But oh! What blossoms! What beauty there is in new life!

How did I forget that spring had blossoms?

The purple with a tint of pink, the white with a hint of purple. Royal, pure delight. How did I forget?

This spring, how timely, how wonderful, how symbolic. My winter season (2024) had numbed me to my bones. A previous spiritual director had told me that I seemed “bone-tired.”

A frost-bitten heart.

They say, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” I must be the fool of them all, because over and over, I think the best and see the best in others, only to be betrayed, blamed, rejected, lied to, manipulated. Lies. A sheep in wolf’s clothing. A sudden turn of character from someone I’ve known for over a decade. Confusion, aggression, threats. Case opened. Other disappointments by colleagues or peers, trust challenged. And then of course the heartbreak of losing my own to poor decisions or just plain rebellion, but being a constant revolving door – people coming into my heart, and people going out.

A frost-bitten heart.

Bitten by betrayal, frosted by the repetition of it. For the first time in my ministry life, last year my heart went cold. “I don’t want to be someone’s leftovers, their fallback plan. I don’t want to be the bandaid or the rotating door, people coming in and out,” I wrote in my journal.

Painted on smiles and pretend hugs, when behind my back, my heart is spit on, my work mocked, like a beautiful painting I spent years mastering, just to get a blob of paint thrown on it. That’s the feeling of failure. Beauty turned to trash. Once a visionary, now a stained vision. I didn’t know who to trust. Not even myself.

At the end of last year, I was home for three months, but I didn’t call and check on the girls or anyone back home. I didn’t want to. I was numb, cold. Like my toes after having fallen through the ice when I was younger. I don’t remember how old I was, maybe 10, but we were ice skating and there was a tiny patch of thin ice. The crackle was too quick to be an alarm, and the ice broke beneath my skates. I only fell through to my chest, catching myself on the strong edge of ice with my arms. My family had to pull me up, and while my mom roasted my toes over the fire for the next hour, to this day, they still freeze up at early signs of cold. I never thought my heart would ever feel like my stone-cold toes.

Journal Entries:

Dec 3^rd: I’m worried I won’t be ready to leave. I’m not ready now. What is this unsettling feeling? It terrifies me. I’ve never felt it before. What if it doesn’t go away? What if things don’t change? Why am I not aching to get back and see everyone like I used to do? What’s wrong with my heart?”

Dec 14: “I feel like I’m stuck in this darkness, waiting to be taken to the light. But it’s like You’re waiting for me instead. Me, sitting in my anger and pity because I’m afraid even in the light, I won’t be happy. I’m afraid nothing will change.”

I was on the plane flying back to Swazi on Dec 30th and writing in my journal; I begged God to change something – anything, because I didn’t feel anything. I wasn’t excited to return for the first time in all my 16 years of traveling (since 2008). I was simply numb. Like a stubborn layer of snow, the fear refused to melt even when the sun came out. I felt like a failure – I couldn’t heal the way I planned to.

I wrote: “I am so deeply wounded. I wanted to be healed before I returned. I wanted to be fixed, strong, whole…I am none of it. I am broken, weak, fractured. Sad. Bracing myself for impact.”

Fear. So much fear.

In God’s goodness, amid my innumerable what-ifs and fear, the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks with, “What if it’s better than you’ve ever had before?”

That alone restored some hope. Not because I was good, whole, strong, or happy. But because I knew God was all I couldn’t be. I wanted to go home strong and healed and whole, so I didn’t have to feel like a failure. He wanted me just as I am. So He could remind me, He is the hero in this story, and His love never fails.

Dec 30^th: "I’m sitting in Dubai and feeling a sudden rush of uncertainty and fear. But I declare I am because You Are. You are strong enough, wise enough, trustworthy enough. You are a miracle-working God, a Transformer, a Deliverer, a Redeemer. Come and redeem my heart to be on fire like Yours again. Jesus, transform my fear and anxiety into courage and peace.  I want to love well even when I’m wounded and weak.

Even if my stomach doesn’t settle, even if my mind still races, my heart is secure in You.”

Nothing extraordinary happened when I arrived. Nothing notable. I didn’t feel strong but I knew His love for me. Peace. And I knew He wanted to heal me His way, on the very grounds in which my deepest wounds had been afflicted.

Jan 3^rd: "I feel like a twist cone, or twizler candies wrapped together as one…a side of joy, energy, contentment but mixed with blood red color tinged with layers of sadness, heaviness, apathy, avoidance. But I am here. I came back. Not to run or hide or avoid it. I came back to do something extraordinary. To love anyway.”

Looking back, no big moments marked my healing, but winter indeed had ended.

I simply showed up each day, took each day as it was, one day at a time. And soon, I was laughing like I couldn’t stop. Giggling at things that I couldn’t remember laughing at before. Enjoying and playing like a kid again. There was a deep, unspeakable joy. A forgiveness that seeped from under the once snow-covered branch, now a sprout of new life.

The transition from winter to spring is not sudden. It’s painfully long. Day after day, it seems like nothing changes, and then one day everyone is out in their shorts and tank tops, as if winter never happened. That’s how healing came for me. Not suddenly, not in an extraordinary moment, but in the simple graces of every day life, warming up my heart just one degree at a time. One degree. Small changes that don’t seem to matter until the “one degree” changes everything. One degree difference and a water droplet freezes. One degree difference and water boils. Oh, the power of one.

One little hand holding mine. 

One kiss on the cheek. 

One prayer from a friend. 

One hand-written Valentine’s Day card. 

One hour of cleaning my house. 

One apology. 

One night of cooking dinner for me. 

One by one by one. Love came daily. 

Only this time, I was unwintered enough to see it.

Fall used to be my favorite season for as long as I can remember. But oh, the Springtime! How did I ever forget about Springtime blossoms? They have captivated me this year. The delicacy of their scent, the delicacy of their colors, the delicacy of their petals but the power it represents! Behold it. Breathe it in. Spring, the season of hope! It changes everything.

Oh, how my cup runneth over with springtime blossoms.

Spiritual Fatigue and the Prodigal’s Brother

 “Bone-tired,” she said. “I sense a deep, deep tiredness.” The spiritual director told me during a four-day retreat.

Although I had been sick this year more than ever, it wasn’t just physical tiredness. Although my mental health was nose-diving, it wasn’t just emotional strain. It was deeper. That place beyond, a spiritual fatigue I didn’t want to admit. But I was in grave need of that soul-deep rest. My bone-tired body needed restoration of the Gospel. What IS the good news? Had I forgotten? I didn’t think so. But to have good news, we first need to acknowledge the bad news. What was my bad news I had been trying to avoid? That I can’t save them. I can’t prevent them from pain, suffering, or making choices that will lead to slavery. That I can be good, but never “good enough.” That I can’t fill that hole or fix that space in people’s lives or even my own heart. That no matter how hard I work, there will still always be work to do. And I cannot do it on my own.

I don’t doubt the Lord’s love, power, sovereignty; I trust Him completely. I’ve seen Him do miracles and I know He’ll do them again. I watch as He welcomes back the prodigals and celebrates them and I rejoice, too! After all, they are also my children, too. I cry and weep for joy, I thank God. But at the end of the day, when the lights are out and darkness settles in, and the house is quiet except for the hum of solar batteries or my noisy fridge, and I go into my bedroom and find a scorpion on the floor, or a cockroach, or I leave my bathroom light on because even though I’m a grown woman, sometimes I’m still scared…My tears turn inward, from sorrow and a deep yearning, not from joy. From a deep cry of wanting the fattened calf slaughtered for me, too. I start to tailspin. God, when will you do something for me personally? Who will you send to take care of me? When I am weary, scared, weak, sick? Who will carry this burden with me? Why do you send me out among the wolves, to do battle for you while I’m just as important as the prodigals, too?

(And He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” -2 Cor 12:9)

My spiritual fatigue had twisted the Gospel. I saw God not as a loving Father or best friend, but as an army commander, giving me instructions that I obey because I love Him. (You see that shift? The hidden pride and misinterpreted Gospel? I love God, not that He loves me.)  Someone asked me, “Are you sure that’s God you’re hearing/obeying? Are you sure it’s God giving you those commands?” Or is it my own demands masked as God, or worst yet Satan, the wolf in lamb’s clothing, making God look like a sheep in wolf’s clothing?  

And then the Prodigal Son story hit me all at once. I am still the brother, asking the Lord, “In all my faithfulness to you…all I’ve done for you…the good, the obedience, my loyalty and my love…. And you kill the fattened calf for the one who betrayed you? I’m fine celebrating those people, but what about me?” And just as the father had to remind the son, God reminded me, “I don’t have to kill the fattened calf for you, because all that I have – is yours. Kate, all that I have, is yours. You have access to ANYTHING and everything you will ever need. Because you’ve been faithful and loyal, I have put in you charge of my household and land, not just to work it but to ENJOY it! It is YOURS.”

This ministry is not just to work but to enjoy. In my fear of not being cared for, I got swept away by anxiety. But when has God ever failed me yet? Has there ever been a time I was sick and not cared for? Sad and not comforted by a hug or even a kind comment from a stranger? Struggling and not prayed for? Frustrated and not encouraged, by random donations or words of encouragement? I mean, honestly, there has never been a time in my entire life where I was left unaided. [A recent story: A woman I don’t know donated on our website and left a note saying she was praying for us and my name came specifically. As she prayed for me, she felt God tell her He wants to give me a book. She thought maybe there was a book I really wanted but wasn’t able to buy, so she then donated money but sent, “God wants to give you a book!” What she didn’t know is that I’d been so discouraged in finishing my second book, that I was giving up. I was worried about what people are gonna think, it’s not perfect yet, maybe it’s just for me and I don’t need to publish it, etc. And then here God is, across an ocean, encouraging me through a complete stranger to finish my book, that it’s HIS desire to give it to me.]

No, we are not given escapes from pain and suffering – no matter how “good” you are, no one can earn their way out of pain. But we are given graces for EVERY SINGLE MOMENT we face, that we may not only endure it, but that we may be transformed through it or aid others in their own transformation journeys, too.

Sometimes, it feels easier being the prodigal, wandering off but coming back home, knowing the Father will never reject you – rather than the one that stayed. Maybe the Gospel seems easier to comprehend that way. Maybe the prodigal’s brother didn’t understand the gospel like his lost-and-found brother. Sometimes it’s easier to forget the Father’s love when you’re the one who stayed. Because sometimes staying is boring or monotonous. And then we forget…the entire Gospel. We forget not just who we are or what we already have, but we forget Whose we are, and we forget the immeasurable gifts of our inheritance as sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We don’t have to lose it all to find it again, like the Prodigal Son. We can rejoice that we never have to trade it in. Because Jesus already traded His own life for our inheritance. The prodigal son learned the hard way, but so did the prodigal’s brother.

 

Let it Fall: A Beautiful Death

How can a season of "dying" be so beautiful?

I was walking while Benji was biking. The sidewalk paved perfectly under a canopy of trees, colors so bright and beautiful, not even the best camera could truly capture its perfection. I had a sudden urge to pick up a leaf beneath my feet. I second guessed the urge, thinking it childish. I’m a grown adult, I don’t need to be bending over and picking up leaves like a little kid, I thought. But the urge didn’t go away at my chiding. I sighed and hoped no one watched me crouch down to search through a pile of leaves for one I wanted. Not one was perfect, but each was absolutely unique. I picked two, smiled, twirled the stem in my fingers and walked on. Benji, who had stopped a couple times on his bike for me to catch up stopped again. He put out the kickstand and parked his bike on the corner, not to wait for me, but to pick up his own leaves. A huge smile swept across my heart. I guess someone did see me after all. When I approached him, I expected him to show me the leaves he wanted to keep. Instead, he extended his little arm to me as if presenting me a rose, and said, “Here, I got this one for you.”

He turned away without a second thought and rode on ahead of me not knowing the impact of this gesture to me.

What are you telling me, Lord? I whispered with tears glistening, knowing very well where He was taking me with this. I had sensed it was the Holy Spirit urging me to pick up the leaf to begin with.

I had been feeling defeated. So deeply defeated this year. Like anything I tried to do whether to help my girls or help myself didn’t work. Because creative writing is my best expression of human experience and emotion, I wrote a poem in my journal earlier this year, and here's an excerpt from it:

The amount of “life pearls” I’ve offered this year that have been traded in for lies instead - is gutting actually. I mean like, life-saving, keeping-you-out-of-destruction and hope-securing advice, but it fell on deaf ears. I felt frustrated with God, too, like, why give me all this wisdom and love to not be able to use it and instead watch them hurt, fall, break, devastate. I asked God on the plane ride home, “Can I just not care so much anymore? It hurts to care this much.” And He said, “What if you could still care as much as you do but not worry instead?” 

Thanks, God, but easier said than done.

So He showed me instead. With a leaf. An image I used earlier in the year when writing in my journal. 

God spoke to me now through Benji, redeeming this image of a leaf. With a dying leaf that was nothing but extraordinary. Colors so vibrant a grown woman had to bend over and admire a pile before choosing one, unique in its imperfection. Just like God’s children. All of His children. Every single one of us. Dying can be beautiful. Death of control-seeking, self-protecting, letting go. Caring just as much, but worrying less by letting the leaf fall, because it’s beautiful that way. God is in control of not just the leaf but the seasons, and the tree, and me. So I can release myself from the pressure of being perfect, from saying the “right” words… If only she would have listened! If only I would have said it this way instead…

And then God steps in to remind me: “You see, Kate? He picked up the leaves because he watched you do it. Not because you told him to. You are so frustrated about the words of life, the warnings, the advice and protection you offer your daughters and they reject or ignore it. But keep living. Keep picking up the leaves like a little kid. You are MY daughter. And it is My pleasure that they model after you. They will hear you speak and the enemy will twist your words; they will hear you speak and throw it back at you; they will hear you speak and ignore it. But they will see you forgive and they will, too; they will see you admit when you’re weak, and they will ask for help, too; they will see you pick up a dying leaf and call it beautiful, and they will see beauty from ashes, too. They watch you, my child, and they see Me. That’s ALL I have ever asked you to do.”

A leaf. Free. Free of worry and control. Free to fall, free to die to self to provide something beautiful. Oh yes, death can be beautiful when it gives true life.

“Truly, truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” -John 12:24

“But I have come that you may have life, and have it in the full!” – John 10:10

You're Gonna Get Wet

 The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water and not get wet. ~ Naomi Rachel Remen

It’s the middle of the week, and I’m nearly drowning. Taki agrees to take the kids for me for a few days – my first answered prayer. I return to my house, alone, and love the stillness of it, the quiet that I’ve been starving. I go to my bathroom and through the window I hear someone crying really loud. Well, what I thought was crying. The sound continues and my heart starts pounding as thoughts race, Who’s hurt? Is someone being beaten? What’s the emergency this time?

I rush to check and there is none. Come to find out, two girls were laughing. Somehow, my brain registered it as crying.

I start cooking dinner, looking up a new recipe, thoroughly enjoying my time alone. I check back on the recipe on my phone and find 3 missed calls from the house mom. (The girls have all gone to a Wednesday church service.) My heart thuds again and I go into panic mode, immediately assuming something happened at church, someone manifested demons, or someone else ran away. Come to find out it was the house mom just asking for advice.

And then, while waiting for dinner to finish, I’m listening to a prayer on my phone. My phone starts buzzing repeatedly as if someone keeps trying to call and call. I try to ignore it and keep praying but my mind racing won’t let me focus. What if it’s Taki? What if something happened to the kids! Did Lucia run away!?

I check my phone in physical panic and find it wasn’t Taki at all but a friend on deployment who had sent me a ton of pictures of his base, most of which were beautiful sunsets!

And then it all hits. No wonder why I can’t get rest. I sink down on the kitchen chair and weep. Pent up tears unleashed from a year that I tried so hard to compartmentalize the negatives and stay strong and “be happy” for all the others. I weep because I know what this means. My brain and body in such a hyperalert state and trying to self-protect means I’m not okay and I finally have to admit it. I’m broken and there is going to be no quick fix for this one.

Thankfully, I have been trained in vicarious trauma and recognized the symptoms, and I contacted my counselor immediately and talked about ptsd symptoms. I also sent an SOS prayer message to my prayer team and Mom and was covered quickly with prayer, Scripture, things that made me laugh and smile while still giving myself permission to be what I felt: sad.

Never before in the history of Hosea’s Heart have we had so many run aways in one year. We had five in less than nine months. And these are some who’ve been with us for nearly a decade! Glory be to God, all have returned except the one. Not only that but my personal plans, goals for the year were frustrated and seemed like nothing worked. I’m supposed to have already published my second book, for example, but I got so frustrated with it, I nearly quit (and it’s in the last small stage of final comb through edits). I felt like the more I tried something, even personal habits or professional growth, the more it eluded me. And then when I sat at the at kitchen table and I wept, I gave up trying so hard. God’s funny like that – I asked for joy, that I wanted people to be able to describe me as a joyful and happy being and then it was like a hundred sad things happened, too. (Granted, I'm not discounted the incredible positive, that was in the previous blog.) But it was also about personal attacks on my worth and identity. The more I “tried” the worse it got. Same thing with patience. The week after my meltdown I said Screw patience! I’m tired of it. I don’t have time for patience in this season! So what happened? 

I was at a lunch date (at my favorite place, thinking it was going to be joyful) with Aya right before my U.S. departure, and it was jam-packed with groups from tourist buses and the waitress and service was the worst ever. We waited forever to order and forever and a half to get the food and then forever plus another for the check. I finally went up to the desk and demanded to pay there because I wasn’t gonna wait one more second. I even told myself, Well they’re not getting ANY tip! And then God did what He does… He whispered right at the end when I was grabbing my cash to pay, “Give them the 200.” It’s a 200 rand bill ($12) and I was like, “You’ve GOT to be kidding me right now. You choose NOW for the time to ask me to be generous?! I will NOT give them anything.” And it was like I could almost FEEL Him smile at me while throwing my tantrum about patience and generous-shmenerous! And without even knowing I was doing it, I gave them my 200 bill and the look on the two waitresses faces – I’ll never forget it. They knew they didn’t earn it. They expected me to be mad. The shock on both their faces and mine was like God playing a joke I didn’t know I needed. I left feeling the lightest and best I’d felt for the entire week!

I realized later (much later) God was actually doing it for me, not to take something away from me. He wasn’t asking me to give away something to make me feel loss or to suffer (since it was the last of my cash at the time). He was doing it to remind me how good it feels to show love (kindness, generosity) expecting nothing in return. And He did it to remind me that He does this to me so often, a gentle reminder that I don’t need to earn His love. He was giving me love by asking me to give something away.

And that’s it isn’t it? I’ve been mad at God all year because giving didn't feel good. It feels like loss, it feels like defeat, it feels like failure, it feels like my heart gets ripped to shreds and He does nothing. It feels like He asks me to keep giving instead, but I’m tired. I’m tired of giving and getting nothing in return. I’m tired of being the one who initiates humility and compassion and grace when in return I get blame and rebellion and rejection. I’m tired of hearing over and over how I will never measure up because I am simply not biological mom. I’m tired of having their own hurt and hatred from their parents projected onto me and me becoming the bad guy. I am SO tired of being the bad guy over and over by pouring my heart and soul out for them. I’m tired of having my words being twisted around and thrown back at me, tired of being “wanted” when they want to cry on my shoulder but “rejected” with attitude when they receive my discipline. It’s like they want to cut me into pieces and keep certain parts that suit them and throw away others. Oh my gosh, it’s exhausting. Their expectations of me are impossible. The expectations of myself are impossible. The crazy thing is, He expected none of it. He was simply waiting to give me the 200. 

There is no way I can ever earn “acceptance” and yet I got caught in the enemy’s hamster wheel of trying to. I am not loving in order to be loved back, but it IS my human need to be loved. I am not giving in order to be given to, but it IS my womanly nature to want provision and protection. It is said that pain can make one temporarily selfish. Indeed, because when all you see is your pain, you forget to see purpose, vision. I was looking at the wrong things. I wanted to hold back, give up, protect what was left. So how ironic that in my weakest (and trust me, you do NOT want to hear what was going through my head about people I actually love) God asked me to give. And I still gave.

In that very moment, He was restoring me in His own way. Showing me how lovable I still am even when I’m angry and bitter and smoke is coming out of my ears. Showing me that HE who is in me is GREATER…than any other emotion, thought, lie, behavior, belief, etc. (1 John 4:4)

I can almost feel Him say, “Have you seen my daughter Kate? Even in the dark, she is still My light.”

When I arrived in the U.S., my friend Michelle paid for me to go on a women’s retreat. Best gift ever. At the retreat, a trio of women prayed for me. They only knew my name because of an introduction. They know nothing about Hosea’s Heart, nothing about me personally, or my journey this year. But as they prayed for me, they prophesied and spoke incredible words and prayers over me. One looked me in the eye and said, “You are a light in the midst of darkness.” She spoke about seeing a physical heavy and dark cloud over me but after praying said, “God wants you to know this cloud is not there by your doing. [releasing me from this fear/lie that I’m doing something wrong, not enough – my soul needed that!] It is planted there by the enemy. Satan is trying so hard to cover that light. But he cannot!” and they continued praying. Another one said, “I sense God saying, ‘You don’t need to make your light any brighter; you are already LIGHT!” [releasing me from the lie that I have to strive harder to prevent failure].

And finally, like a grand finale, one read to me a prayer from her journal that she felt the Lord asking her to share. That morning she had watched the ducks on the lake, and there were three stubborn ones that stayed on the bank and wouldn’t get in the water with the rest. Then in flew a flock of geese landing gallantly on the water, sending ripples and a beautiful entourage. The Lord said, “If you are so fixated on the ones that left, that stayed behind, that refused to get in the water with you, you’ll miss the amazing things still coming!”

And that released me from the pressure and lie that it is my job to keep the flock together, that yes it’s okay to feel loss and sadness for the ones that run away, or leave, or won’t get in, the ones that will refuse to truly join the family or take the journey with me, but to keep moving forward, fixing my eyes ahead so as to not miss the BEAUTY and JOY that surrounds the small piece of SAD. You can be both sad and happy, and it's okay.

The fact that I was putting so much pressure on myself made me realize the weight of this quote: “The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water and not get wet.”

Well, I guess it’s time to jump in and watch the gallant geese that are coming. The season of harvest is here. It’s time to embrace the wet.  

Make a Wish

“Make a wish!” They cheered me on before I could take a bite of a scrumptious bouquet of handmade, handfrosted cake pops.

“A real wish!” TJ, our case manager, interjected right as I was about to indulge. How did she know I was cheating and didn’t really make any wish ‘cause I just wanted to take a bite?

“Just one?” I joked. I thought about the pilot and the helicopter ride. I thought about my perfect man. I thought about asking for a husband in the next year of life. I thought about the Toyota Fortuner, 7-seater vehicle I’ve been wanting, I thought about the places I’ve visited this year and the dreams that came true with my travel and adventure desires. All of it was wonderful. All of it will be wonderful if I ask for it. But in that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than just one thing.

It’s You, I whispered to my Prince. It’s always been You. I just want You.

With a wink to the “audience” that was waiting for me, I took a bite and tasted heaven. I mean like seriously. I have never tasted something so wonderful in all my life. (Thanks, Hannah, for the homemade cake pops!)

 This year has by far held some of the highest highs and unfortunately also the lowest lows. My physical and mental health have both taken quite a beating this year. I’m used to the spiritual battles by now, but this has been all out war. Like Trojan Horse, sneaky, slimy, hit-you-when-you’re-already-down kind of blows. But those stories are for another day. 

This year has also held some of the most breath-taking moments of my life. Dreams I’ve had that I NEVER thought would get fulfilled were dropped in my lap this year. Felt like anytime my enemy would throw something at me, my Father would counter it. Like, “Oh you wanna do that to my daughter? Watch this, Sucka!” 😉

“Watch This” I sure did! I saw with my own two eyes some of the most famous sites in the world! After a conference in Spain, my beloved friends who lived with me my first year in Swazi in 2010-11 were getting married in Scotland, so I stayed after the conference and traveled Europe to “kill time” until the wedding. One of my best friends Hannah flew out and joined me for our once-in-a-lifetime trip! I enjoyed France WAY more than I thought I would. LOVED the food. Lol. Adored our stay in Paris, and enjoyed, among many other things, a sunset boat cruise near the lit-up Eiffel Tower, went UP to the TOP of the Eiffel Tower, and went to Versailles Palace.

Hannah and I also spent time in Frankfurt, Germany, where we had a really hard time finding “brats” until we were finally corrected (with annoyance) that we were actually looking for “bratwurst.” Our Wisconsin bad. In Spain, I enjoyed three different cities, Alicante, Madrid, and Barcelona. Unfortunately, Barcelona was freezing and rainy. We had to ask our hostel front desk for a heater, of which they were first shocked and second, annoyed. (Hey, just because it was “spring” there doesn’t discount that we were from the African heat.) 

My favorite location by far was Italy. I could go back and spend the whole two weeks just in Italy. One night we wandered into a live street concert which was fantastic! The food was incredible, one of my favorites was a wine-tasting and charcuterie board with the sweetest Italian lady who had no problem making sure we drank more than necessary! We enjoyed walking (several times) The Floating City, Venice, and also seeing it from a gondola. We of course spent plenty of time in cathedrals and basilicas where I had some incredibly intimate moments with Jesus.  But one of my favorite locations was the Roman Colosseum. If anyone’s read Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series, it was like I could relive it. Terrifyingly marvelous. Such a blood-soaked place of Christian martyrs of our past is now home to the Head of the Church around the world. 

That was the trip of a lifetime, right?! Crazy thing is, that wasn’t the end of my adventures this year! Prior to covid, my friend Kellye and I had planned and prebooked a southern African tour, crossing multiple countries in one trip. Four years later, post-covid, we finally took our trip and added two friends, my brother and Hannah! Multiple stops in Botswana included seeing wild elephants and giraffes along the rode side, camping out in the Salt Pans with just a sleeping bag and the MOST miraculous sky of stars I’ve ever seen in all my life. It still is my favorite experience, seeing nothing but stars from horizon to horizon, like a dream. Hiking Victoria Falls was breathtaking and we even captured the rainbow! But the best view and exhilarating experience was the helicopter ride over the Falls! (And the pilot was breathtaking, too, hehe). One of my longtime dreams came true and I got to touch, feed, brush and elephant named Themba, and he also kissed me. 

Imagine all of that in one year? Pinch me, am I still alive?  And yet… all of that… can’t compare to God. I think these highs of the year are going to stay the best highlights of my life, and I’ll relive them as much as possible. But that’s all I can do. Relive them in my memories. The thing about moments of ecstasy like these, they can’t produce the same pleasure after the experience is over. Joy yes, but pleasure is felt in the moments and pleasure therefore doesn’t last. But He does. His Love lasts. His provision lasts. His blessings last. His happiness is the kind that lasts. 

And that’s why when I was asked to make just ONE wish…all I could think of was Him. He spoiled me this year when my heart felt trampled on. He provided for me in ways I wasn’t being otherwise cared for. He saw my vulnerability and my weakness and instead of taking advantage of it called it Blessed. In one of my most difficult years yet, the valley after the mountaintop, He has been my reason to not give up. Oh, how could I ever want anything more? Only Jesus.

My armor is cracked

But you’re still standing, kid

I’m too tired to walk

But you’re still standing

My heart is too heavy for my chest

But you’re still standing

My weapons are broken

But you’re still standing

I’m weak and afraid

But you’re still standing

 

It’s not as bad as it seems, Beloved,

Because you’re still standing

-1 Cor 15:58

Ah, yes…this is why I follow Jesus.

He’s not just the Prince of Peace,

He’s the prince of me
I’ve enjoyed the world, but it couldn’t fill me
the way you love me Lord
There is no compare, nothing that trumps You
You are, you were, you will always be
More than enough for me
You are my Husband, my Redeemer, my Master, my Best Friend