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Seeds and blooms

The Shepherd:
“It will take you some time to develop hinds’ feet and to climb to the High Places, and if I put the seed in your heart now it will be ready to bloom by the time you get there.”

Much-Afraid shrank back. “I am afraid,” she said.
     ~ HANNAH HURNARD, Hinds’ Feet on High Places

Santa_Ana_Jesus_Senor

What seed is God planting in your heart now?
What seed has he planted months, years ago, that is ready to bloom?

Jeff asked me the night before our trip to El Salvador, “What are your top fears about this trip?”

I answered that # 1 was health. I feared one of us getting sick just three weeks before Morgan’s wedding. We had no time for such.

And # 2 was for Jenna. As the official trip photographer, she would be the one exposed with an expensive-looking camera, making her a target for crime, something we heard abounded in El Salvador.

So even as I read the Chief Shepherd in Hinds’ Feet on High Places inviting me to the High Places too, my family of Fearlings followed.

But what would it look like for me to turn my back on fear and follow the voice of Jesus instead?

Maybe this: sitting on a bus at 3 a.m. on the outskirts of a rainy San Salvador airport—with no turning back—for a week in Central America.

It was the blooming of seed he had planted earlier in my heart.
It was time.

But did my worries also bloom true?
No, thank God.

Instead, His gifts of grace abounded:

~ an abundance of bottled water for our team wherever we traveled (# 289)

~ packaged “safe” cookies and juice boxes every day for the kids and us workers at VBS (# 290)

water_Alejandrojuice_boxes~ a canopy for where we worked under equatorial sunshine, voluntarily set up by church members employed by the local municipality (# 291)

~ security guards at the public parks posted especially for our VBS crew (# 292)

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security~ daily showers at the hotel that weren’t always warm, but were always cleansing (# 293)

~ food (pupusas!) that was native to El Salvador, but that never bothered my stomach (# 294)
pupusas~ enough sleep each night to sustain me through the next day, even with late-night devos of power-packed but brief messages (thanks, David!) (# 295)

~ enough Spanish words each day to create meaningful friendships in the moment and to extend beyond the trip (thanks, Google Translate and Facebook!) (# 296)

Jenna_new_friends

new_friends

~ superb planning and leadership by Hector Cortez for our group (# 297)

~ incredible support and love from our Christian family in El Refugio and Ciudad Real (# 298)

Warner_and_Hector

El_RefugioIglesia_de_CristoGod doesn’t plant seed unnecessarily. 

Nurture the seed he’s planted and let it grow, even if weeds continue to grow alongside. Trust him with the results. He knows what he’s doing.

I’m glad he planted the seed in my heart to go to El Salvador,
even when I was afraid.

His seed is stronger than fear.
Let it bloom.

* * *

1000 gifts...the count continues

What seed is he planting and watering in your heart?
Where are you ready to bloom?

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10 comments:

Love Bears All Things said...

Great post! I loved seeing photos and hearing about your mission trip.
Mama Bear

Barbara H. said...

I so need to read that book again.

Loved the photos and news of the trip! And I am glad the seed came to fruition.

Trisha said...

How wonderful that God has provided this opportunity for you, Lisa! It's great to see the pictures and to hear of His mighty provisions for you in all areas!! Love to you, my friend!

tinuviel said...

So thankful you had a good trip and such gracious protection from sun and stomach bugs! May God continue to water and bring growth from the seeds your team planted (and the seeds planted in you).

Hind's Feet is one of my all-time favorite books.

PS From your Twitter feed in the sidebar, where do you get white noise for your mp3 player, please?

Lisa notes... said...

I appreciate your support because I love showing and telling about our trip. I hope I'm not going to bore people with it. :-)

I want to press in hard now to find the significance of what God wants me to do with the lessons now that I'm back home....

Lisa notes... said...

tinuviel,
I love Hinds’ Feet too. This is at least my 3rd reading; it really speaks to me in many ways.

I got the mp3 white noise for “free” (always relative--ha) when I ordered isolation headphones from QuietHeadphones.com this past Christmas. It’s not total white noise—various sounds of nature are included, but it works great to tune out other noises regardless of which headphones or earbuds I’m using.

And for the record, I did use earbuds in the doctor’s waiting room, not my big headphones. :-)

Lynn Severance said...

Love, Love, Love this posting, Lisa!
Wow - it is so true when we are followng the Shepherd's leading our "pet fears" come crashing all around us.

I am currently at the island where I attended the conference last summer - where so much happened re: my book project. I came Sunday for a confence that begins on Wednesday just to recover enough from the hour ferry boat ride to get here.

I know God will sustain me while I am here - no matter how I am feeling. Today I bumped into the man I met last summer ( he is one of the main speakers this year). He and his wife just got in having come from Chicago. It was so grand to reconnect and jabber. A taste of the days ahead - fears or not. I am moving into this realm where God has led me.

Your posting today is perfect timing for me! Thanks for all that you shared.

Lisa notes... said...

Lynn,
This makes me so happy to hear. I’m thrilled that you will be able to attend the conference. You inspire me to continue working through whatever adversities I face, and joyfully roam the mountains with the Shepherd anyway.

I’ll be praying for you to have an uplifting journey this week and will look forward to what you’ll gain and give there. You’re such a blessing!

Kim said...

I've never read that book, but have been wanting to for some time now. I need to get a copy!

Lisa notes... said...

Yes, get a copy when you can. It’s a simple allegorical story (somewhat reminds me of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress), deep with meaning.

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