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I recently traveled to Normandy, France in the first week of June. My best friend and her dad, who reads these devotions (hi, Mr. Roy!), embarked on a father-daughter trip to France and Scotland and invited my family to join for a few days. We met in Paris, where they had flown from Texas, and after spending a day seeing the top sights, we ventured west to Normandy. This week, I'll share some reflections from my time in Normandy, but first, I want to share about a dear friend who we got to meet up with in Paris.
When I was serving as the College Ministry Director at Great Hills Baptist Church, there was a young woman in our college group named Ruth. Ruth had grown up at Great Hills as well and helped us launch an on-campus Bible study at Austin Community College, a campus with no Christian groups at the time. Recently, however, after a long process of preparation, Ruth moved to France just six months ago as a missionary with Greater Europe Mission. She spent her first few months in Paris while attending language school before moving to Grenoble just a couple weeks ago as her long-term location to do ministry. When we spent our day in Paris, we got to see her, and she became our tour guide for the day, helping us navigate the public transportation and find the things we wanted to see. It was such a blessing to see her and hear about her heart for France and how the Lord had brought her there. The Lord had actually given her a passion for France many years ago, yet only now is she able to see that coming to fruition. She shared these thoughts with me:
"I feel like during my time of praying, support-raising, and working towards getting to France, it felt a lot like Israel in the desert— there was lots of angst and trial, but I continued only because of God's miraculous sustenance and obvious guidance (much like the manna and the pillars), but it was long and hard. Since being here in France, I feel very much like it has been my "promised land". Not just because France is beautiful and there are wonderful things here (although that is obviously true), but because, for the first time in my life, I genuinely feel so aligned with what God wants for me. I think I was in alignment with what God wanted before, but there's such an unexplainable sense of reward and satisfaction to a promise completed after literal years of trusting in God's promise despite it looking bleak or incredibly far off. I also think it's a testament to what it feels like to be living out of God's giftings and passions that He has given to me and using them for His glory. When it's all aligned, there really is a harmony that is hard to describe!"
I'm so encouraged by Ruth's testimony of trusting God in the waiting. Do you feel like there is something that God has placed on your heart, but you're not sure why? Is there a burden or a passion that you carry that you've been waiting on the Lord to open up doors for? Take heart in Psalm 27:13-14, where David writes,
"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!"
David writes here in a time of great trial and uncertainty. He seems to be fearful but resolves to trust the Lord. He believes that he will see the Lord proven faithful in his waiting. The Lord was indeed faithful to David, and He was faithful to my friend Ruth. She also told me this, "More so, I would say that this journey has been marked by God teaching me utter dependence and faithfulness in the journey, even if it's messy along the way."
Amen! If you'd like to pray for Ruth, here are some of her prayer points from her most recent update:
- She just moved to Grenoble a couple weeks ago. She has accommodation for the summer, but pray for her as she searches for a long term apartment.
- She has joined an existing team of missionaries there, but pray for her as she finds a local church to plug into and a solid local community to be a part of.
- I will also add, pray for her continued language acquisition, for opportunities to meet people who are open to hearing about the gospel and for her boldness to share it-even in a new language.
Our whole crew, Ruth second from the left:
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