Lessons Learned

Moments before getting on the bus to go home. I miss these people so much it hurts! 

GOD'S FAITHFULNESS:

        I have said over and over again in this blog how I have learned so much about God’s faithfulness and provision. As I sat on the 8 hour plane ride from Madrid to New York, I went through my journal of the semester and read all the entries. Nearly every one started with me praising God for specific ways He provided for me. To start, He orchestrated that Mackenzie and I live on the same street and have the EXACT same class schedule. For those of you who have never been to Sevilla, (which I am guessing is most of you), the fact that we lived on the same street doesn’t have the same meaning to you as people who were there. The odds that two people from two totally different study abroad programs and parts of the US would get placed not only in the same area of town, or the same neighborhood, but on the same STREET are ridiculously low. My whole time in Spain, I never met someone else who lived closer to me than Mackenzie. I don’t believe in coincidence. That one little detail changed every part of my time abroad. Anytime I would leave my house to walk anywhere, Mackenzie and I would walk together. It was a guaranteed 20-30minutes we would have several times a day to just talk and process through life together. Those walks changed our friendship and our time in Spain. God also provided a group of girls in my program that I loved and instantly connected with. It was so fun to be able to watch my friend Mary (from ISA) and Mackenzie become close and grow in their friendship as well. I always loved doing things with ISA because I knew I would have Mary, Denise, and Emily right there by my side. God also was faithful in allowing everything to work out for Mackenzie and I’s moms to come visit us! That weekend was so special and such a gift and will always be some of my favorite memories with my mom. Not only did it work out for our moms to come, but Heather got to come visit us for almost 3 weeks. This was such a long shot in the beginning, I didn’t think in a million years it would happen. But her parents were gracious (thanks Jack and Sheri Baby!!!) and our time together was more rich than it has ever been before. Even the little things like my class schedule working out the way it did (I only had class on Mondays and Wednesdays) was such a gift and blessing from the Lord. He was also faithful in the work he did in my heart, and how I got to see him visibly work in the hearts of some of my closest friends. I will talk more about this under “community”, but God provided a group of 5 girls all from different programs who wanted to actively seek Him during their time abroad and we were able to have a weekly Bible Study together. He provided for me with my host family, that I was able to have wifi and food that I actually enjoyed eating and a host mom who was so sweet and motherly. These are only a few examples of God’s provision and security he offered me while I was in Spain.

        RICHNESS IN COMMUNITY: 

I learned so much about the need for other believers to come along side you in your weaknesses and battle your sin with you. I already mentioned the 5 other girls that I was able to get together with once a week for time in the Word. This was such a rare gift to be able to find people who wanted to make their time in Spain purposeful, and we all had so many crazy connections that it was so fun to answer the question, “now, how do yall all know each other?” Through this time, I learned what it looks like to be apart of a community that has a mutual vision, shares the deep parts of their hearts, genuinely loves spending time together and reading God’s Word. It was a breath of fresh air every week that flowed out to the rest of my days, and I don’t know what I would have done without this time on Thursday mornings. The Christian life was not designed to live alone. This semester, I learned what it looked like to walk through my time in Spain with 5 other girls who were facing the same struggles I was. Had I not had this Bible Study of girls, I know that I still could have grown in my relationship with the Lord. But it would not have been of the same measure, and honestly, it would not have been as fun. I had so much fun with these girls, whether it was on our Thursday morning time or not. Fun had with a community that genuinely loves one another is always so rich and leaves me desiring more in all of my friendships in my life. 

      REFINING MY FAITH: 

So, I have been a Christian for a long time. I would say I have been authentically walking with God since my freshman year of college. I had definitely experienced growth and richness in my relationship with the Lord before this semester. But when I arrived in Spain, I knew it was going to be a time that God would “refine” my faith. Webster defines “refine” as: to remove impurities or unwanted elements from (a substance. To improve (something) by making small changes, in particular make (an idea, theory, or method) more subtle and accurate”.  The Bible uses “refine” in this context: "And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The LORD is my God." (Zechariah 13:9) It speaks again of removing the impurities from silver in Proverbs 25:4, "Take away the dross from silver,  and the silversmith can produce a vessel." To be honest, there were (and still are) several areas of my life that needed refining. I think there comes a point in every Christian’s walk with God that you have to make a choice to purify your life, and seek holiness and sanctification. By sanctification, I just mean the process of daily seeking to become more and more like Jesus. I love how this verse puts it and the imagery that is there. I wanted to dross and grime off of my life so that I could be pure silver or gold. This semester, I was refined in ways I didn’t even know I needed it. There were so many “unwanted elements” in my life that I finally felt like I could step up and get rid of. The result that came from purifying my language, the movies/shows I watch, the music I listen to, the things I think about, the way I view academic integrity, and the introduction of transparent confession into my life increased intimacy with Christ and with the people around me. I know being refined is a lifetime process that I have only just begun to understand and practice. 

        

        I know these last few posts were painfully long, and if you made it this far, you deserve some type of award. All of this is to say that God has blessed me with an incredible semester, beyond what I could have possibly imagined. Sevilla will always have a piece of my heart, and I know I will never forget what I learned in Spain. I am so excited for this summer in Fort Collins, Colorado with some of my best friends in the world and to continue to see how God will work there. Thanks for reading my blog and staying connected with me in spirit as I have been halfway around the world. I am so happy to be home and have missed you all so much!! Ta luegoooo