I've been waking up rather early in the mornings, (4am not on purpose!) and having some wonderful time with The Lord. Yesterday, I was reading in My Utmost for His Highest, one of my favorites, and read the following quote several times to soak it in.
"God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, and He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says - "I cannot stand any more." God does not heed, He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. Trust yourself in God's hands."
This year in Ecuador has been a time of stretching for me-- wonderful, challenging stretching. The comfort always remains that Christ knows exactly for what purpose he is stretching and preparing me. What a peace that brings! What beauty that he doesn't listen to me when I complain about the stretching and begin to get weary from the load, but continues to take me outside my comfort zone to prepare me for something ahead.
He goes on stretching till His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly.
Don't be discouraged if you are in the midst of stretching. He is preparing you for the flight ahead of you that you can't see yet. He soon will let you fly, higher than you could have before, closer to him, and with a better view of the situation below where you used to be. Take comfort in His preparations.
I'm finding confidence that The Lord has taught me lessons this year in Macas that He will continue to use for His glory when I return to The States and begin a new life as a wife and teacher and friend. What a beautiful thing is the way he patiently walks beside us, leading us closer to Him.
May all your wanderings today point your eyes upward to Him.
He is worthy of all the glory!
Much love from Macas,
Laurita
Beautiful post, Laura! And one I needed to hear! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello Laura,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if you remember me from high school or not, but I've been following your post for the last couple of months. This one I have to say really touched my heart. This time last year I was sooo sick I couldn't get out of bed. I had to quit school and work. After constant visits to the doctor, no one could tell me what was wrong with me just gave me antibiotics and sent me home. In July of last year, I was admitted into the hospital with failing kidneys, anemia, swelling from my waist down, and bad stomach reflux. I was assigned a whole team of doctors, all of which were puzzled as to why a person so healthy for the majority of life could all of sudden be soo sick. A month and a half passed and I was released diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3. To this day, the doctors still don't understand what caused it or how it came to pass. Even though it has been hard at times, I have to say I have come to look at my condition as a blessing. It has brought me closer to God, and made me look at life in another perspective. Last month, I got the news that I got accepted back into nursing school. I said that to say this, I understand about the period of stretching that God may allow us to be in to get closer to him. Thank you Laura for your encouraging posts. GOD IS AWESOME :) Jeremiah 29:11