I know it's often silly to post one's hardships on the internet, and I won't lie, I'm often one who sees it as a cry for attention; however, that's not at all why I'm about to tell you what I am going to tell you.
In China, I saw God move. He weaved in and out of each and every situation we found ourselves in, intricately using every single moment to remind us of His eternal glory. Don't mistake me--I did not always see these beautiful intricacies. No, often I turned a blind eye to His work, and it was only in the afterthought that I found His hand. Regardless, His majesty astounded me, reminding me of my place in this world. Humbling me. And then I returned home.
Long story short, I fell right on back into complacency. It wasn't that God wasn't still doing marvelous things around me, but rather (and it seriously shames me to have to say this...) I merely didn't care anymore. I was spent. My drive to serve Him went kaput (side note: that's the coolest word ever). I thought when school started back that I'd turn back, much like every time I'd walked away from Him before, but week after week went by, and my Bible collected more and more dust, and my prayers got shorter and shorter, and my church saw less and less of me, and...you get the picture, right? Like I said before: kaput.
Now, before you get yourself to thinking that this post is going to end with me telling you about my humbling return to Him, and how everything is just peachy, think again. I'm still struggling, but my God is a forgiving and merciful God. Each day, I feel Him tugging again at my soul, convicting me, and reminding me of His grace, as well as my absolute need for Him.
So here's the past year summed up in a paragraph as best as I can: I started nursing school and stepped off leadership at the church I attend in Conway. I died a little under the weight of school demands, but summer has revived me. I decided to stay home this summer and help out with the youth at the church where I'm a member, as well as try to tackle the looming thesis which I'm praying I will have finished before school starts back in the fall.
Blah blah blah, I know. But here's my attempt to better record my coming back to Christ and finally disciple someone (did I leave that part out? Well, that's a post for another time.)
Here's a random tidbit about the not so glorious parts of a south Arkansas summer:
