Monday, August 19, 2013

Georgetown

Today has been such a beautiful day! I walked down to the hillsboro square and tried on some of the cutest dresses! Gosh!!! I will have to put pics up. Nashville is definitely beautiful in the spring. I love having weekdays off.

A Whirlwind of Chaotic Beauty

I am having a little quiet time with my main man Jesus right now, thumbing back through the two scriptures that were used during yesterdays services, Psalms 77:11, 12 and Deuteronomy 2:7.

Salmos 77;11, 12 dice:
Me acorde de las obras de JAH;
Si, hare yo memoria de tus maravillas antiguas
Meditare en todas tus hechos.

My English translation:
I remember the works of the Lord Most High,
Yes, I will remember his past works
I will meditate on all He has done.

What has God been doing, done in my life in the past four years? When my mom died, I did not occur to me that Ebby and I would ever be "ok". I believed that we would continue to live, hopefully not too long, aimless and lifeless. And to some extent we have. There have been moments of involuntary happiness and mountains of despair, discouragement and difficult situations. Let's be honest, it has been flat out almost IMPOSSIBLE. But as I started to write out the people and ways that God has showed Himself visible and tangibly present, I couldn't help but think, "Ebby, God has been mighty good to us."

We have had friends and family who have allowed us to fall apart in their laps(as they tapped our shoulders in consolation). A church who has prayed us to sanity. A camp family who allowed us to "serve" as best as we could and yet LOVED us through. A cabin filled with girls handpicked by the One and Only, who listened and loved when they could have ignored and judged. They made us laugh, hugged us when we cried and walked with us as we experienced the most lifegiving summer of our "new" lives. And the camp extras from Australia to St. Louis they were there. We had THREE birthday parties, when all we really wanted was to spend our 24 birthday hanging out with our pillow and blanket. Fridays meant fun days with two of my favorite Eritreans. They loved on us when we could not reciprocate. During the times of memorial service planning, moving from Ebby's apartment and when we just wanted to be, there was a family that opened their doors to us. Our little sister fought for us when we were not handled with care and love. She even attempted many times to keep us at church when all we wanted to do was return to our beds and our own despair.

Life in Nashville has not been all fun and games. But God met us there, too. He brought us to a wonderful, antiquated Southern Baptist Church where LOVE filled the air. The pastors and their congregants showered down Christ's love on us and accepted us as their own. They made life in Nashville worth it. We asked for jobs and housing that paid the bills. God gave us an INCREDIBLE condo in GREEN HILLS, which is by far the best area of Nashville. Not only did our jobs pay the bills, they also paid for some very necessary trips to Bonaire, Tucson, Indiana, Atlanta and repeat a couple times. Did I mention that awesome camp had incredible staff members who live in Nashville? Well, let's talk about the time I went over to the Scott house to do something. Laura was making dinner and had prepared a batch for me to take home and pop in the oven for Talitha, Ebby and myself.

And now I am back in Arizona minus Ebby and minus my mom. ALONE. And He continues to be good. When I fall apart, the same praying church, filled with amazing women and men of God are there to listen and pray. Before I could even question where I would, God opened like 7 doors for housing. Job? Well, He's still working on that. Community for Ebby in my absence? He covered it! For me, a best friend and two cousins who have opened up their homes and lives and allowed me in. I can't forget the family who is ALWAYS on the other side of my phone and just a plane ticket away that love, love and love me some more!

Deuteronomio 2:7 dice:
Pues Jehova tu Dios te ha bendecido en toda obra
De tus manos; El sabe que andas por este gran desierto;
Estos cuarenta anos Jehova tu Dios ha estado contigo, 
Y NADA te ha faltado

My English translation:
Jehovah your God has blessed the works of your hands:
He knows that you have walked in this great desert;
These forty years Jevoah your God has been with you
and you have not wanted for anything.

He didn't say that it would be easy, but He said He would go with us and be with us and take care of us. Guys, GOD HAS BEEN GOOD!

  I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.- Thank you for being Jesus with dirty feet!
~Domi Shanks