Ah! Let the countdown begin. It is currently 4:46 pm and at exactly 4:00 am a group of people from my church, including myself, will begin our journey.
This Spring Break we are traveling to Honduras on missions and I can’t wait! Days of hiking, translating, preaching, praying, and fellowshipping with the people of Honduras are on the horizon. While I was prepping for this trip, God taught me a few things. One of the biggest things had to do with a vacuum, plastic bags, and clothing.
So there I was, on my knees with one hand wrapped around the vacuum handle and another pressing firmly down on the clothes inside the plastic bag. With the flip of a switch, the sucking began. Starting at one corner of the bag, an inward folding of the plastic collapsed the bag into a dense square of wrinkled folds. Although my description sounds slow, this happened within seconds. Literally. My brother and sister had the widest eyes when they saw just how fast the bag collapsed.
Now, with three vacuum-sealed bags of clothing, I sat still. My hands played with the edges of the bags in an attempt to readjust all the wrinkles, but it was pointless. The bags were so firm, yet deflated. They didn’t want to be moved and were sealed off to any refilling.
This is when God showed me something.
I realized I am an awful lot like that plastic bag. I am wrinkled and worn. My energy quite nearly sucked out of me. I have folds and drawn-in corners to hide me from being open. On top of this state of decay, I am adamant toward people who want to help me and fill me up through encouragement, advice, or discipline. “Don’t move me!” is written on my face. I keep people out when I am hurting most and lose sight of hope in my emptiness.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Isn’t that crazy!? God wants to fill us and He can fill us. Our job is to be willing. We have to be open to be filled. This simple truth is something I was not expecting to pack with the Skittles, bug spray, toilet paper, and socks in my backpack. But, it is definitely something that I am not going to forget (like the underwear I forgot to pack until about two hours ago, whoops).
So now when I look back on this trip, I can say, “Yeah, as I was packing and throwing all of my stuff in my backpack, God threw this crazy, convicting revelation at me: Be open and be filled by the Holy Spirit.”
By His strength, I will hike up the mountains. By His peace, I will rest in the hammocks. By His direction, I will lead the Honduran children in Bible studies. And, by His divine power, I will hopefully wake up on the right side of the bed at 4:00 am. (Although, I am pretty sure the right side of the bed is only possible after 10:00 am.)
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