Joy of all joys! Spring has well and truly sprung! The air is warm and sweet-smelling, beckoning me to spend every breath of this day outside. Pity of all pities, my laptop screen reflects the bright sky-blue and I have to squint to read the words I’m typing. And before long my battery will start blinking and alas the indoor conveniences of electricity and a roof over my head will pull me away and indoors. But for now I will enjoy the moment, and update this running account of my life in Hungary.
Since my mind is allegorically inclined, I will start by saying this. The snow may have been beautiful, but it was foreign, there was an uncertainty about it. Over time it proved to represent new beauty waiting to be experienced and walked in. That is how I began my time here. The warmness of spring brings a comfort and familiarity which could be likened to the calmness of heart, the warmth of intimacy with the Lord as I spend my time here in His Word. The Lord has been ever faithful to lift my spirits, just as the simple act of stepping outside and feeling the sun of my face seems to make the spirits rise above the clouds.
I don’t know if I have spoke about it before, but contentment has been a lesson I have learnt this year. Contentment is the ability to be satisfied with our present state. It is more than not wanting anything else, it is wanting what you do have. This comes by understanding the utter sovereignty and goodness of God. It is trusting where He places us and what He allows, to the point where I rejoice in it because I know it is surely the best thing possible for me. Paul said ‘I have learned to be content’. Now it may be easy for me to sit on the grassy slopes of a castle garden in Europe and say that,I know I haven’t experienced an ounce of what Paul went through. But lessons such as this are important bedrock to lay for when the big trials come. I trust through the strength of the Lord I will remember and hold on, and my trust in God will only grow more firm through endurance.
All trials big or small are producing in me perseverance, and perseverance character, and character hope. (Romans 5:3) This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. (Hebrew 6:19)
So spring for me is a reflection of this contentment. It is also representative of my new depth of trust in my good shepherd, who makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. Ive been thinking a lot about how much I have complicated and been flustered and frustrated about the ‘discovery of Gods will’ in the past. ‘Am i doing what God wants? What if I miss his plan?’ So many scripture I’ve always held firm to...Proverbs 3:3-5, the promise ‘he will make your paths straight’ has a beautiful simplicity to it that I’ve somehow never quite rested in. But I’m beginning to see that if our eyes are one Jesus, if we make it our aim to be close to Him, we will find His will. God has this way of using our circumstances, coupled with our God-implanted desires and that still small voice, to get us right to the place He wants us, without us even noticing how we got there. We can walk in confidence in the thing that is most clear for us to do, in prayer, and if we are straying trust that God will close doors. And He did that for Paul twice, before giving Him the vision to go to Macedonia. But Paul is never rebuked or looked down upon for making a wrong choice. It was God’s divine hand the whole way. The key is just to be in that place of willingness to go anywhere and do anything. That’s really the hard part, to let him take the wheel. But if we understand God’s character, that He is good, He is wise, He is the Father that loves us and knows what is best, that He will be gentle with us...this is an easy transfer to make. So a rest has come upon me in that area, which is wonderful. I would still covet your prayers about direction for this summer; I’m looking for a door to open for me, a place or ministry to serve on my individual 30-day trip, and then wisdom for the other couple months and next semester.
That’s all I really have to share this time, other than I am loving my classes and assignments. I haven’t any trips coming up, so the weeks are more relaxed and the weekends very relaxed. I’m enjoying the extra time to go for walks and write emails and blogs and such. So life is good. I would love to hear what’s happening in any of your lives, please email or tell me a time to skype!
Much love and prayers your way, Jemma.
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