Peace

Peace--a feeling that surpasses all understanding. What does that look like? Or better yet, what does that feel like? It’s not just a peace that you have within you because things are going well in your life. It’s a peace that you have despite how wonderful or how crappy or unknown things are. If you find that the peace that God has given you dissipates when life starts to spin out of control, then your level of peace has indeed not surpassed all (human) understanding.

I have felt both. In which I mean there have been times in my life where I have felt peace dissipate as my life “spun out of control” because I did not have a firm grasp of it and other times where it came rushing in like a tidal wave when I had no idea what was to come next.

Over the past four or five years, I have felt more and more “peace that surpasses all understanding” than ever before. Perhaps it’s because of the choices that I have made to leap of faith, to say “yes” to the unknown, to walk away from my dream job, and to tell Him, “Here I am, use me.” The peace that rushes over me always comes in at the perfect moment because that’s how our God works. He is never a minute late or a minute too soon--He is always on time. There have been times where I have felt that I shouldn’t have this peace because of the chaos that is taking place, but it is then that I realize that His peace has indeed passed my human understanding.

Even now, as I write this, a peace from Him resonates from within me. I have to laugh because I think I am facing more unknowns than ever before. Yet, I feel a feeling of peace even as this past month was layered with some surprising twists that have caught all of us volunteers off guard regarding our work and ministry here in the DR.

Jesus promised us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) I think this is one of the most beautiful promises that He gave us besides the fact that He is with us always, even to the end of the age. I find it so comforting to know that the peace that our Heavenly Father gives us doesn’t come and go with circumstances, like many things in this world. It stays constant, just like His love for us and the grace that He saturates us with.

PRAISES & BLESSINGS:

• Three of our girls recently got baptized at an overnight youth conference!!

• Two of our girls will be starting a job internship within the next week. This will prepare them for jobs that they will be able to hold in the future.

• Another one of our girls has started attending school outside of the Home. (We previously had only one girl attending school off-site.) This is a huge milestone for her, and we all shared in her excitement as she was presented with her uniform and school materials.

Things to PRAY for:

• Please pray for the staff and us volunteers. We are facing a lot of unknowns. Pray for guidance, wisdom, and continued peace with every decision that we are making.

• Pray for our girls who were recently baptized and the two that have yet to make this decision.