remember when?

I love “remember when’s”!  My patient siblings have heard my stories countless times.  My roommates laugh at my stories, and the fact that they will hear them all multiple times.  I am quite the sentimental one so I cherish the moments I get with those my heart holds so dear.  Thankfully my family and friends patiently listen as I often laugh through recollecting.

Thursday I flew back from Texas to California.  For some reason telling family goodbye seemed harder this time around.  Maybe it was the big blue eyes of seven nieces and nephews I now look into when it is time to go.  I’ve traveled quite a bit, yet leaving the ones your heart loves doesn’t get easier, does it?  Even at the age of 26, I felt a little teary telling my mama bye.

I guess it doesn’t help the matter that I’m not quite sure what He has for me this summer.  Opportunities have come and gone, and all I’ve felt is where He wants me.

I put on my iPod, and soon realized I wasn’t alone.  As I sat on the plane I discovered something.  My heavenly Father loves “remember when’s” just like I do.  He began to speak to me.  He began to remind me of some of the most amazing trips and opportunities that have come my way.  I soon realized that sometimes it was the very thing I didn’t want to do, that was laced with incredibly good gifts.

In 2008 after finishing an exhausting project, I just wanted to rest for a bit.  I wanted to catch my breath, and actually get some sleep for a change.  The next thing I knew my leader mentioned 4 states and how he felt we where to send teams to them. As soon as he said Pennsylvania, I knew.  But I pushed that little prompting down as far as I could.

Later we began to wait on the Lord as a team to discover where God wanted us to go.  We waited for a moment, then one of my good friends looked up and said, “I think Anna is supposed to go to PA.”  Four others second that motion.  I was a little annoyed and let them know they were supposed to be praying about where they were supposed to go and to kindly leave me out of it!

At this point you may think I’m a bit ridiculous in my demand of the LORD… and maybe your right?

So I told the LORD I didn’t have the money for that trip, and if He wanted me to go on that trip he would have to provide “x” amount.  He told me someone to email.  In a matter of hours, they told me they would give me 2x my “x” amount.

Finally I began to surrender!  (He is ridiculously patient with this girl, isn’t He?)

The trip turned out to awaken so many things in me including a new leadership style, greater humility, learning to use worship in warfare, a heart for Israel, and a desire to go there.

So my Father is reminding me of His faithfulness.  He is using “remember when’s” with me just like He did with the Israelites many years ago.

Turns out that my love of remembering is yet another way I am made in His image.