Relationships… love em, hate em, can’t live without em.

No, I’m not just talking about the romantic kind. I’m talking about friendships too. Some of the most painful and beautiful things in my life have been related to the relationships I’ve had. 

Let me share an example with you. In college, it took me awhile to be willing to share my story with others. And to this day, having a few close friends is the way I tend to roll. So, when a close college friendship was broken during the stressful end of semester weeks, it hit me really hard. I started looking for a way to deal with my emotions, and I landed on causing myself physical pain.

Over the next several years, causing myself pain became a common way that I coped with my emotions. It looked different at different times of my life, and the specific emotional triggers changed; but I continued to cause pain on the outside to draw my attention away from the pain on the inside.

Consequently, when I applied for the World Race four years ago, I was not accepted. Instead, they encouraged me to seek appropriate support and help. I was sad when I received that answer, and I took it pretty hard; but the Lord used that experience to spur me on. The prospect of going on the World Race was fuel enough to break the cycle of causing myself pain; and the delay in launching on this venture was part of God’s perfect timing. The suggestion of Adventures in Missions (to pursue additional support and help) was part of the process God used to help me grow and become a healthier person in the last several years. 

I share this with you not because I want you to see me in a certain way. In fact, I’m totally not comfortable with the idea of sharing this on the world wide web. But God is worthy of all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. And redeeming me from my desperate response to the struggles within is something really cool that he’s done. In view of that, I invite you to rejoice with me in the character of God. To rejoice in his faithfulness to draw us near, to draw us out, and to deliver us (even from ourselves) (Ps 107:17-19).  

What a great and wonderful God we serve!

Ps 107:2a Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story...