Kneeling
at the foot of the cross, I grasped the hammer tightly in my hand and drove the
nail into the thick plywood. I am Yours, Lord. Yes-I give you all of me. I surrender.
“Surrender”
has been a common and repeated lesson in my walk with God; from the Luke
22:42 challenge as I sat in the Garden of Gethsemane (2005), to my family’s
move to California, to the difficult season of graduate school and realizing
that I am not meant to do this alone, to Honduras and Panama and the ups and
downs of my first 2 years teaching overseas, including the many times I’ve
cried out to Jesus, because He is all I really have, my only hope, the only One
with answers, and the only One who promises peace.
This
weekend, I joined together with 100 students/leaders from the Crossfire youth
group in a 3 day “retreat” to dig deeper into the theme of Surrender. Leading
up the retreat, the leaders and I experienced this theme as our original plan/vision
for the weekend fell through.
This was
one way that we had to hold this weekend retreat lightly; with open palms
facing Heaven, we prayed and looked to the Lord for wisdom and direction and
for His purpose for the retreat to be fulfilled. Glory be to God, because not
only did He reveal Himself in powerful ways to these students, but He did
mighty work in their hearts that I believe will last for eternity.
Prayer is powerful and effective, because we
serve an all-knowing and sovereign God who loves us and is intimately involved
in our lives. Thank you for those who prayed for these students and this
retreat!
Continue to next blog posts for:
-Story: Struggling with Surrender
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