I'm going to school for physical therapy. I am infatuated&intrigued by photography and traveling, yet I have done very little traveling {out of the country only a few times--Canada} and am a complete novice at photo taking. I want to learn so bad, and am basically teaching myself through trial and error.
basically, i have so many interests going on in me that it is hard to figure out which one i should focus on for now. however, to solve this problem, i can just go to God right? of course! but as per usual, with everything else going on {school, work...} it is hard. i am slowly but surely making more time for God, and yet still just a wee-bit impatient for answers when i ask questions. but the lord is faithful.. and he will let me know.
he has already let me know that the "timing" was wrong when two of my friends,sister&i wanted to plan a trip to Ireland! it was going to be my&amanda's first trip over seas. our friend lizzy went to england and our other friend nancy has been to ireland,scotland,italy,spain,alaska {nancy, if you are reading this and i missed anything, let me know! lol} we were so excited. but from the get-go i knew that i needed to seek God out for his wisdom and timing. i would pray for discernment and that he would let us know if we should continue to pursue this trip any more or wait for a later date. and surely enough, he had let us know.
so right now, i'm praying again-- Lord, please let us know if 'next' august is your timing. i want to go forth in the things that are of your timing. i pray for finances and peace in this situation. and Lord let me know that i am on the right track with you. i love you.
not the greatest picture---but a reminder for us to continue to pray about this desire in our hearts.
5 comments:
You missed Germany and Switzerland, and technically I went to Northern Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland.
Things are looking right now like I might be going to the Bahamas in August with my best friend at school who just won some free airline tickets! Maybe that's part of the reason God told us to wait - he had other plans for me ;)
Sometimes I try to read God's signs but can't figure out which way they point even when I recognize that they're there. How do you clarify things like that? I'm working on listening, but I don't always understand. Do you have any advice for how to listen better?
Oh geeze, I am still practicing that part. I do not have it down yet. It is really hard to clarify what God wants. There are definitely decisions I have made that were the right ones but I technically wouldn't have sought them out long enough or prayed about it before hand. What I need to work on is doing it continually-praying, asking, reading. I don't know if I have any advice for how to listen better because I am still working on it. All I can say is to really think about your upcoming decisions. And wait for a confirmation or clarification--an easiness within you about the situation. For example, say for instance, as you are planning this trip with your friend to the Bahamas something in your inner self (or spirit)doesn't feel right--you feel like it's not flowing smoothly. It could be that God wants you to seek him and to find out if you really should be doing this at this point in your life. Now that was just an example {an example similar to our Ireland trip situation. We would do some browsing and thinking and planning but some things came up that interfered with further planning. And immediately, I felt at ease because I wasn't worried about getting the finances together in time}. I think that is all I can say for right now. I love you hon and hope it helped!
ps. IT IS DEFINITELY TOTALLY AWESOME THAT YOU'LL GET THE CHANCE TO GO TO THE BAHAMAS! lol
Well it's good to know that I'm not the only one struggling with this!
Using the trip as an example made me remember this summer: the night before I was getting ready to leave for Alaska, Julie was supposed to be leaving the same day to go back to visit Northern Ireland but she got this feeling inside herself that she shouldn't go. It was so strong that we called the airline and got her tickets switched so that she went to Arizona a week later instead. She knew enough to follow that strong gut instinct.
Anyway, I'm glad I have a practice partner, so to speak! <3 Thanks for everything
Sometimes I wonder why things happen, or don't happen, in my life, but I always feel like God has a plan for me and sometimes it may take years but then I understand and I know why. (it all makes sense) Everything happens for a reason :)
God is wonderful and if you listen to him through your heart.. he always seems to have the answers.
You will get to go to Ireland one day, hopefully soon, and when you do I hope you have a fabulous time!
In the mean time, you can always learn as much about your photography as possible... and the wait will be worth the breathtaking photo's you are going to capture when your there :)
Never let go of that dream trip.. If you could go right now, what would you have to look forward to?
Thank you so much Jessica! I agree whole heartedly that God has a plan for me and that everything happens for a reason. He really does have all the answers, I just need to wait and listen (through my heart like you said--not my natural ears necessarily) and seek him out.
You made a few great points that I didn't even think about, they were in your last two sentences. It will definitely be so much more rewarding for me to go to such a great place and being able to really know how to use my camera correctly and creatively so that I could capture all of intense beauty around me. As well as the whole line about what would I have to look forward to if I went right now? I really do thrive on looking forward into the future-- I am always excited about what else there is to come! So to be reminded of a way of thinking that I usually follow but was distracted from was nice. :)
I really appreciated this post, and am also thankful that you were able to encourage me. Thank you again, so much. :)
Post a Comment