Another Fiji Flashback ... God's Love!

I had another Fiji flashback today during worship at church. I remember sitting in the grass on Taveuni and just feeling the love of God in every moment, in the beauty all around me. I felt beautiful sitting in the presence of his love.

Each night with the few hours of electric we had after it got dark (at like 6pm) we as a team would have a time of worship. We pulled out an old keyboard, grabbed the guitar and began singing together in a time of spontaneous praise to the Lord. For several nights in a row we sang a song that simply goes like this:

"Let it rain
Let it rain
Open the floodgates of heaven"

We sang it over and over 20 or 30 minutes of just begging the Lord to pour out his blessings and his love on the island.
This morning at church we sang this song. Immediately I was back in the little house praising God with my teammates.

What amazed me this morning is that for the first time since that time in Fiji almost 5 years ago I truly knew that that type of close relationship with the Lord is possible in "real life." Life off the island seemed bland in comparison. I never thought I could get back to the level of relationship with God that I had then away from that kind of bubble experience. That time was so set apart for the Lord that I never thought I could get back to that place apart from it.

As so many other times, God proved me wrong. He showed me my life now and reminded me that yes it's different from that time in Fiji but our relationship is even more developed than it was. I feel like I'm doing a terrible job of explaining it but what I mean is that you and I can achieve the mountain top experience in our every day life. Our relationship can grow stronger in our daily life by spending time in his word and prayer. Sometimes it even goes beyond that time when we're in the bubble because it's real and applicable.

Another flashback was to the waterfall. We took a day to visit one of the waterfalls in the rainforest. It was a day for me that I will never forget. I led devotions that morning and encouraged my team to dive into his love much like I knew some of my teammates would do later that day. We arrived and I watched in longing at my friends doing what I was momentarily paralyzed to do: make the jump into the literal and figurative pool of the Lord.

God did a work in me that day. It took me a while but I made it to the ledge with the help of a friend and prepared to jump. I backed out of a jump with another friend but a few moments later with just me and God and the water below I took a running leap from the rocks and jumped into the refreshing water.

The words on the screen today were accompanied by this picture. Below it is a picture of the fall in Fiji. They may not look similar in your eyes but in mine they represent the leap that we all must take to trust God and jump into his overflowing love.

So in all, the Lord taught me today that you can break the bubble and go even deeper with the Lord than we ever thought possible - even in your everyday life.

Be encouraged. Take the leap into the pool of God's love.

Remembering the stars

So I've been wanting to write this for a few days now so I figured I would take a quick break from the tiny bit of school work I am doing this weekend and just get it down on paper.

Some nights I really miss my time in Fiji. I don't necessarily miss the bugginess or the humidity, but I miss the simplicity of it all. Late at night when the electricity was turned off, I would sometimes walk outside and just look up at the stars. Thousands of little lights illuminating the ground, so bright I didn't even need a flashlight. There were days -- weeks even -- of no make up, fresh water from the stream showers, hand washed laundry at 6am. Early sunrises and early sunsets with days filled with rainshowers, talks of Jesus and his love and the comfort of friends as close as family. My three most valued possessions were my Bible, notebook (and pen) and the songs coming through my headphones.

I do not miss being away from my family or having no contact with the world beyond the island, but I do miss being disconnected, unplugged, away from the world for a time. Sometimes I truly miss gazing at the beautiful creation around me and marveling at the Creator in a place where nothing else mattered -- just me and the Lord.

I learned so much on that trip. God stretched and grew me in those two months that I spent in the middle of the Pacific. He helped me do things that I never imagined I could accomplish or withstand. I miss the days when I could take the time to sit in the sun and bask in the Savior's presence.

My life here is so different from those two months that I spent amidst the flowers and raindrops -- with new friends and old ones -- living simply to know God and make him known. But it's not a bad different. I'm learning to experience God in new ways -- to fit my schedule around him so that my life can still bring him glory -- so I can still be about the will of my Father.

Although I miss the time with the stars, the raindrops, and the overwhelming love of the Lord, we -- he and I -- are making a new time here. Someday I'm sure I will look back and think on this time and find myself missing now.

Cherish each day. Make the most of it. Make it count for eternity.