Let’s Get GRITTY

Have you ever had that, “whoa God,” moment when you are reading Scripture and it just comes to life for you? I was reading about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane in the gospel of Mark, and it was like the Word of God was hitting me right where I was at. In this passage, Jesus took some of His disciples, asked them to stay and pray, and then He went off and cried out to God. Jesus was fully aware of the death that He would have to endure in order to buy our freedom, and He felt the huge weight of what lay ahead of Him. After He prayed, Jesus came back to see that His disciples were sleeping…not once or twice but three times this happened. (Mark 13:32-42, CSB) I think about Jesus in the garden and how lonely He must have felt. He is no stranger to grief or loneliness. He cried out to God to take the cup from Him if at all possible, and then He surrendered to the Father’s will. (Mark 14:36, CSB) Jesus did hard. Ever since I was a little girl, my motto has been, “I can do hard.” Now I am changing my motto to, “Jesus did hard so I can do hard.”

What does it take to do the hard? How do we stop allowing our circumstances or what others say about us to define us, and instead walk in the liberty and calling that God has specifically placed on each of us? I am finding that to stay strong in the face of trials takes mighty courage. With courage comes grit. Ok, so what exactly do these two words mean? Here are my definitions of what these words have meant to me during this time:

So here is where I am at… I have been burned. Burned by friends, by others in ministry, by even family sometimes. I have gone through some really dark seasons with trials that I wish on no one. I have been allowing myself to wallow in my pain and in how crappy things have been for the past couple of years. I have been stuck in this “poor me” mindset that only causes me to stay in this ugly, painful cycle. As I continually look back and hang on to what has happened, I then anticipate that the worst will continue to happen. If we anticipate horrible things to come, they will be sure to come to pass. Man the mind is mighty powerful.

But then to add on to the crappy things that have been happening for a while, I have been stuck in the United States away from my husband waiting on a visa for close to three months now. I am stuck in a hard place as I continue to wait. I am desperate for some hope and angry at all that my husband and I have endured. (I hope someday I can write a blog about how God worked everything out for us, but until then I will keep waiting on the Lord). Alan and I have gone through a lot of hard, but now not being able to physically walk through it together ingresases the hard. I have wrestled with God wondering if we are going to see any fruit produced from what has been happening. I have sat in a lot of anger, tears, and questions.

One thing (out of like 1,000) that I admire so much about my husband is that he is not afraid to say the hard things. When I am being a Whitney baby, he does not sit and wallow with me, telling me what I want to hear. He addresses the ugly with such grace and love, and he always encourages me to be better. A couple of nights ago, I told Alan some negative thoughts I was allowing to brew in my mind. He did not respond with some fluffy sugar-coated answer. Instead, he spoke straight to the lies that I was believing, and he called me to rise up and recognize the truth. My husband empowered me that I am the only one that can change how I feel. With his blunt and yet loving words, something clicked on me. I can choose to respond with tears and a poor me attitude, or I can embrace the hard and rise up stronger. I can be fierce and have a sound mind even when nothing around me seems to make sense.

I can be like Jesus and do the hard. And what better example to follow than Jesus’ example?

Instead of allowing myself to stay where I am, buried in bitterness and built-up frustration, what if I take all of these experiences and allow them to transform me into a strong warrior for the Kingdom? Suppose I stop allowing what others do or say consume my thoughts but instead let it all roll off my shoulders? To take the crappy and face it with courage and grit instead of throwing a pity party?

Here is the thing I have come to realize…life is hard. It consists of crazy trying moments that test our patience and character, sometimes even faith. So what are we going to do about it? What are we going to do in these dry seasons? Are we going to sit around and wait for the next happy season that could potentially come? Or are we going to rise up with dignity and bravery as overcomes in the midst of our dark times?

There comes a time when we have to choose whether we want to stay stuck where we are or if we want to stand up with grit and push forward. I wrote this not just to encourage you , but to encourage myself as well. Jesus did hard. The hardest thing anyone could ever do. Jesus did hard, so we can do hard. Let’s get gritty together.

One more thing! God’s Word is ALIVE and ACTIVE. It is God-breathed. The Bible has been my source of hope, wisdom, and encouragement during this dark time. Here are some passages that I have been reading, re-reading, and pulling from. I encourage you to not just read them and move on with the day, but let them soak in and transform you. Write them down in a journal and see what stands out, or sit and just listen to what God wants to show you through His Word. I hope that they encourage your spirit as they have mine!

•Joshua 1:4-9

•Mark 14:32-42

•Exodus 3:7-8

•Psalm 27:13-14

•Isaiah 40:27-31

•Matthew 28:11

•Hebrews 11:1

•Hebrews 12:1-2

Estoy Aprendiendo

Estoy sentada debajo de una manta gruesa con un cafecito en mi mano, y todavía tengo frío. Pienso en mi casa en la República Dominicana y como casi nunca necesito una manta (excepto cuando llueve mucho). A veces cierro mis ojos e imagino que estoy ahí con el aire fresco, un Bruniño loco, y mi amado esposo. Puedo oler el café en la greca y escuchar los motores en la calle.

Yo he estado en los Estados Unidos por un rato, bueno un largo rato. Estoy loquita por volver a la casa y mi vida en la RD. Puede parecerles loca, pero extraño las cosas pequeñas. Cómo caminando por todos lados, el olor de la bandera (arroz, pollo, y habichuela), escuchando, “colmado!” en nuestro complejo de apartamentos. Extraño saludar a mis amigos con, “hey klk”, pasando la noche en la terraza y viendo las luces de la ciudad, o las noches cuando la luz se va y nos sentamos en el balcón y hablamos sobre las cosas profundas que tenemos en nuestros corazones. Cree en mi que la lista puede seguir.

Sabes qué hay muchas personas alrededor del mundo que dicen, “aye los Estados Unidos es mi sueño”? Bueno, la República Dominicana es mi sueño. Y nunca quiero olvidar que fue Dios quien me hizo un camino para vivir allí.

Este tiempo en los Estados Unidos ha sido tan difícil. Mi esposo y yo estamos comunicándonos a través de un celular, y hay tiempos en que no tenemos una buena conexión de internet. A veces siento como que no puedo compartir mi vida entera con mis amigos aquí porque no tienen las mismas experiencias. Cuando estoy aquí, extraño a mi esposo y gente en la RD. Cuando estoy ahí en la RD, extraño a mi familia y gente aquí. Mi corazón está en dos países y eso no es fácil.

Estoy desesperada por un poco de esperanza ahora. Nunca he luchado contra Dios o cuestionando a Dios antes. Pero durante esta etapa, quiero preguntarle, “Dónde estás Señor? Estás escuchando? Estás viendo lo que está pasando?” Estoy tratando de estar firme y confiar en Él. Pero mi cerebro humano quiere tener las respuestas. Mi cerebro humano quiere saber por qué tengo que estar separada de mi esposo por mas que dos meses y por que siempre estamos luchando pero no vemos el fruto de nuestra lucha.

Yo soy una mujer terca. Cuando tengo algo en mi mente, no me detengo hasta que llegue a donde quiero estar. Este tiempo ha sido tan difícil porque no puedo controlar nada. Tengo que esperar en el Señor. Y a pesar de que creído en Dios desde que era una niña, a veces tengo dificultades para liberarle el control. Pero cada día, estoy aprendiendo más.

Aunque Dios no contestó en el tiempo que yo quería, este tiempo tiene un propósito para el reino de Dios. A través de este largo tiempo, Dios me enseño muchas cosas que nunca quiero olvidar…

Aunque Dios no te ha respondido, Él está obrando todavía. Suena tan cliché, verdad? Entiendo perfectamente. Nunca vamos a entender las formas de Dios. Él es soberano. Jesús puede ver todo lo que no podemos ver. Él ve lo que está en frente que no alcanzamos ver. Es como estamos viviendo en un gran rompecabezas y no podemos ver todas las piezas. Pero Dios es el jugador. Él puede ver todas las piezas que tienen que conectar para completar el rompecabezas.

No podemos controlar todo. Gah, es una lucha para mi. Quiero saber lo que va a pasar y quiero planificar todo. Cuando me mudé a la isla en 2019, planeé mis días. Pero cada día nunca iría como estaba planeado. Pensé que yo sola podía controlar las cosas alrededor de la casa. Mi pobre esposo. A veces estoy estresada porque quiero que la casa esté de una manera exacta cuando tenemos visitantes. Alan siempre me dice, “hey tranquila. Nadie va a ver ese polvo en la mesita.” Bueno, hace casi 3 años y todavía estoy aprendiendo cómo poner todo en los pies del Señor. Ahora, apuesto que tú puedes imaginar lo difícil que ha sido este tiempo para mi. No tengo a mi esposo, no tengo mi pasaporte, estoy esperando al consulado que no nos comunica, y no se cuando voy a volver a la casa. Estoy aprendiendo a cómo dejar todo en las manos del Dios.

VALOR…estudié algunos versículos sobre esperando en Dios y la palabra que vi muchas veces es: valor. Cuando pienso en esta palabra, siempre pienso, “ah si es la fuerza que tenemos para hacer las cosas que nos asustan.” Pero para tener valor no solo significa eso. Para ser valiente es tener fuerza en el dolor o tristeza también. Quiero ser una mujer valiente con la fuerza de Dios en momentos de miedo y momentos de dolor.

No tenemos que sentir Dios para saber que Él esta con nosotros. Aunque estoy leyendo la Palabra de Dios y orando todos los días, no siento su presencia todos los días. Tenemos momentos espirituales altos y momentos espirituales bajos. Me gusta pensar en el camino de la fe como una montaña rusa. He estado atascada en un tiempo bajo pero yo se que Dios siempre está conmigo. Él ve todo lo que Alan y yo tenemos en nuestros hombros, Él escucha nuestros gritos. Nunca nos abandonará.

Necesitamos estar alerta y atentos en cada momento. Hay una guerra espiritual alrededor de nosotros. El enemigo siempre está buscando y planeado una manera de sacarnos o sacudirnos del camino de Dios. En su primera carta, Pedro dice, “Practiquen el dominio propio y manténganse alerta. Su enemigo el diablo ronda como león rugiente, buscando a quien devorar. (1 Pedro 5:8, NVI) Si el enemigo no puede derrotarnos, hará todo lo que pueda para hacernos sentir como que estamos derrotados. Él quiere mantenernos apartados de Dios en vez de caminar en la libertad con Jesucristo. Pero con el poder de Jesús que vive en nosotros, ya hemos vencido.

Amo a la gente, no a las cosas. Cree en mi que me encanta ir de compras. Me encanta buscar decoraciones para mi casa, ropa para mi esposo o yo misma, juguetes para mi Bruno, y regalitos para mi familia. Pero he encontrado que esas cosas nunca va a llenarme. Nunca me voy a sentir completa con ropa nueva, una casa llena de decoraciones bonitas, o un carro nuevo. No no no. El mejor regalo es tiempo con mi gente. Cuando comparto un buen tiempo hablando o escuchando a los demás, eso va a llenar mi taza. Siempre debe ser personas sobre las cosas.

•Me encanta mi vida sencilla. Amo a mi familia muchísimo, pero mi familia tiene un vida tan ocupada. Siempre están afuera de la casa trabajando, haciendo las diligencias, en partidos de fútbol, en algunas reuniones, etc. Es la forma de vivir aquí. Y algo tonto… siempre tienen luz y agua. Yo crecí aquí en los Estados Unidos pero ahora estoy acostumbrada de mi vida en la República Dominicana. Durante mi tiempo aquí, he extrañando la simplicidad de mi vida en la RD con mi esposo. Si no tenemos agua en la calle, no hay problema, tenemos tanques. Si no tenemos luz, no hay problema, tenemos velas. Hay tiempos en que mi esposo y yo pretendemos que no tenemos luz, hacemos una cita con velas en el balcón sin los celulares y luego conversamos sin distracciones. Son momentos tan especiales. Extraño mucho a esta forma de vivir.

Mi hogar es donde está mi esposo (y mi Brunie también-claro). No me sentía como yo misma sin mi Alan. No me importa donde estamos, pero si estamos juntos, ese es mi “hogar”. Quizás suena queso-ey (como tonto o tan romántico) pero es la verdad. Si tienes que pasar un largo rato sin tu pareja, tu vas a ver.

•Más que nada, he aprendido que Dios va a cumplir su plan en su tiempo perfecto. No estoy segura cuando voy a volver a la casa o por cuánto tiempo estaré aquí. Ha sido tan largo, pero yo se que Dios está en el control. Tengo que dejar de presionarme y cuando pueda dejar de hacer eso, podré encontrar paz y descanso en Jesús. No puedo esperar hasta que pueda sacar esta manta y empacar mi maleta para volver a la casa. Pero hasta ese momento, voy a seguir aprendido y confiando en Dios.

My Faith Spot

Have you ever cried out to God? I am not just talking about word vomiting all the things that you want from Him. I am talking about the deep cry where your belly aches a little and you are trying to get words out but cannot even utter a sound. Where you are pleading with God for something that may seem so out of reach?

I have this sacred place in my old room in the states where I go when I am praying for a miracle. This is a place where I go and wait in great anticipation for the Lord to meet me there. My faith spot.

It all started when I was a young girl longing for that special someone (as most young girls do). I would go to this sacred spot and talk to Jesus about the man of God that I desired. I would sit on the hard, cold wood floor resting my back up against the side of my bed, and I would just lay it all out there at the feet of Jesus. Over the years, I have returned to this same spot over and over again to ask God for things that seemed impossible or insane to some.

•After my first trip to the Dominican, I knew that I wanted to give my life to ministry on the island. So, I went to my faith spot and talked to Jesus about this desire He placed in me to move to the Dominican, and I dreamed of how this desire would become a reality.

•I found myself in the same faith spot a year later. Following my internship in the Dominican, I was fully convinced that I would move there right after college to do ministry. I did not know what kind of ministry, how it would financially happen, or really any of the details. But I knew that God had given me this vision and would bring it all the fruition.

•In 2018 I was about to graduate college and head straight into missions in the Dominican, but I had zero money. Ningún dollar. I remembered how God had planted this seed in me on a hot basketball court in the DR years before, and He was going to be faithful to water the seed until it bloomed. And once again, I went to my faith spot.

Now here I am again, sitting cross cross apple sauce on my old wood floor and asking in mighty faith that God will work on my behalf again. We are praying for a crazy miracle that all the legalities are sorted out. There has not been much clarity, a lot of unanswered questions, and some potential set backs. Alan and I are not sure when we will see each other again, and it is scary and hard. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about getting to hug my husband again and going for a walk around our itty-bitty apartment complex with my little Brunhijo. I am so eager to get back to the island that God had called me to and made my home. Believe it or not, I miss the roosters crowing early in the morning, the loud music sounding through the streets, and the smell of arroz con habichuela during siesta (rice and beans-Dominican eating is good eating). It’s the place that I love so much with the people I love so deeply.

Although my heart feels overwhelmed by what lies between me and going home, my soul finds hope as I recall all the little miracles that God has already given me. I look back on how many times I sat my booty down in this faith spot and asked God for something big that others told me were crazy. Time after time, He met me here and answered each specific prayer.

In this sacred place, all my worries and anxiousness fall in Jesus’ presence. I am no longer consumed by my circumstances but instead consumed by my precious Jesus. I become undone in His presence.

Boy, I would love to just get what I want when I want it. I mean, don’t we all? But here in this spot, I remind myself that even when I do not get my way, Jesus is still good and worthy of my trust. You see, I do not want basic, cool stories to tell. I want stories that scream, “holy crap that was Jesus!” I want to share things where something that seemed wildly imposible became possible with one explanation…”Jesus.” So, I will continue to go to my faith spot where I pour out my heart and guts to Jesus. Where I go and trust in His name and promised over what seems logical and tangible. And I know He will meet me there time and time again.

Now here is the cool thing though, God does not just meet us in one specific place. But instead, He wants to fill our every space. Whether on our comfy couch or running around the house with the vacuum and cleaning as us women do, He is going to meet us right where we are at. He hears our prayers from wherever we call out to Him. And even when God does not respond when or how we want, He is still attentive to our hearts’ cries.

So, if you are looking for me over the next couple days (maybe weeks), you can find me kneeling on my hard wood floor asking God for a, “holy crap that was Jesus” story once again. And if you are feeling discouraged or weighed down, I encourage you to create that sacred time or space to call on the name of Jesus too.