I’m not sure I even know where to start about last week. It was a big week for us. Let me start by saying that I don’t think Billy & I have ever been happier. We see the Lord do something every day and we know that we are exactly where He wants us to be. At the same time, though, I have felt like it has been hard. Not hard like I am ready to go home hard, or anything like that, but hard in that we trust in Him for everything. Back home we had jobs, a schedule, normalcy, etc… and not that we haven’t sort of fallen into a routine and schedule here, it’s just been so different than we ever thought it would be. What we imagined when we came, has looked very different – and we are more than okay with that, it’s just different. While we have been here, I have definitely had “moments” with the Lord. Honestly, I hear Him speak subtly every day in some way, but I just haven’t had those profound “connection” moments with Him that I think I thought I would have. I imagined I would have all this extra time to be in the word, worship, and pray here, and we do have more time for that, but even in those times, they have felt “hard”. I can glean something from the scriptures, but I just haven’t had those moments of deep revelation. Billy on the other hand has been reading like crazy and has gleaned so much from the Lord during our time here. My issues may just be because of all the changes I have gone through physically and they keep me from really pressing in the way I normally would.
This past weekend we were invited to attend a family weekend retreat away with Fountains Church, and this trip will forever hold a special place in my heart. From the moment we got started in the car with someone kind enough to give us a lift there, we knew it was a God-ordained moment. The 2-hour drive there was all ministry time. We prayed and prophesied over the driver and really spoke into her life, and she did ours as well. Then we get about 10 minutes from the retreat center, and she says “Do y’all just wanna go to the beach now instead of waiting until tomorrow?” (paraphrased in my best southern language, because she most definitely did not say “y’all!” haha. She speaks the most beautiful Queen’s English, and I could listen to her all day.) I almost cried right there. Let me give you guys a little bit of a backstory. In all our trips to England, the one thing I have always wished to see was some of the cliffside beaches that are dotted along the English coast. I knew that the place we were going was 20 minutes away from the beach, but I didn’t know if I would be able to go and see it. I just hoped that maybe I would be able to. I don’t think I ever really told anyone this either. It’s just always been a little dream I held deep in my heart. So when she said that, I was like, “Yes if you want to, that would be amazing.” Seeing Scarborough reminded me of Myrtle Beach with all its arcades and such. We got to see the lighthouse, the marina, and a beautiful cliff, as well as the Scarborough castle up in the distance. We ate an ice cream cone on the shore and took a tram to the top of the city to see better beach views. It was such a special moment for me. I teared up several times at the goodness of God for looking after me and getting me to see the beach, even before the conference ever got started! Bucket list item #1 checked off!
I have always dreamed of seeing the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights. It has always been a bucket list item to maybe get to Norway or some other place to see them at some point in my lifetime. Well, last Friday night, due to a geomagnetic storm, the Aurora Borealis was supposed to be able to be seen in the UK. Before I left home to come here, I kept telling my mom and sister how cool it would be to be able to see them while we were here. I never imagined I actually would though. But God… not only does he arrange a geomagnetic storm to allow the lights to be seen much lower than normal, but He also arranges to get me up and out of all the city lights to a place out in the country and on a hill for the best vantage point. I almost missed them too. We had been around a campfire at 930 or so and you couldn’t see anything in the sky, so I was like, yeah it’s not gonna happen. We went instead inside towards bed, but I decided to stop and have a “cuppa” (tea) before we went up. It got to be around 11 or so and I was just about to head upstairs and I honestly think the Holy Spirit prompted me to go outside one more time. So I did just in case. What I saw next amazed me. Purples, greens, and pinks dotting the entire sky. It was amazing. All I kept saying was thank you, God. Thank you. You arranged this most magnificent moment for me perfectly. It was such a special moment with the Lord. Bucket list item #2 checked off!
The next day, I thought we were going back to Scarborough – the beach we had visited the day before – during our afternoon break from ministry time, but the lady we had made plans with decided not to go, so we chatted with someone else about their plans and found out we could go to Cayden Bay with them, another (more natural) cliffside beach. I cannot even begin to describe this beach’s beauty. When you go to the beach in South Carolina, the beach is the natural wonder you want to stare at, but in this case, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to stare at the cliffs behind me or the beach ahead. It was so beautiful. The Lord was like just in case you didn’t get enough yesterday, I had this surprise worked out for you too.
Now, what I failed to mention is the fact that this beautiful cliffside beach can only be accessed by going “down” a steep cliff! As we got to the top of it to head down, I became very nervous – not about getting down the hill, but to get back up the hill. IT WAS VERY STEEP! It registered 12 flights of steps on my watch. The lady I was with asked me “Are you gonna be ok with it?” I said, oh yeah, getting down will be fine. It’s the getting back up I am concerned with. Haha! Then as we were still headed down, we passed a lady who had fallen and very obviously broken her ankle. The fear had already been building inside me, but seeing her took my fear to new levels. While we were sitting on the beach enjoying all that beauty around us, I also had this fear trying to creep its way in. I had visions of falling and breaking something; not being able to physically make it up the hill and the men I was there with having to push or pull me back up. I didn’t let it take away from the moment on the beach too much, but it was always in the back of my mind getting back up that hill. Without going down that cliff, I would have never been able to fully experience that beach though, and see the beauty first hand. I climbed back up that hill, all on my own, and only had to stop twice for air. I didn’t hurt. I conquered that fear, and I didn’t let it keep me from experiencing the beauty of that moment. I was so proud of myself. I became emotional after I did it because I was so proud. There is a lesson here though. Sometimes we are asked to endure hard things to see the beauty. A refining fire hurts, but the pure thing that exists after is always a thing of beauty. Had I chosen not to go down that hill, I would have missed all the beauty that was awaiting me below. Had we chosen not to do the hard thing and come to England, we would have missed the beauty of the Lord’s work that is being done here. Is there a hard thing the Lord is asking you to do? The walk down a steep hill, the letting go of something, the act of letting Him refine you is always worth it because a thing of beauty lies on the road ahead.
The entire weekend, from the ministry to the free time, to the friends we were there with, could not have been more perfect. We were made to feel like family and got to really know some people on an entirely new level. The entire weekend I just felt like the Lord was showering me with gifts to say “thank you”, and “You are so special”. Thank you for doing the hard things. Thank you for saying yes. Thank you for being willing to go. He did all that for me, and to show me just how special I am to Him. Our entire weekend was about “Encountering God”, and I will say that last weekend was an encounter I will never forget.
