the sweetest reflection

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."

Søren Kierkegaard

These past 7 weeks have been challenging, exciting, interesting, exhausting, frustrating, exhilarating, and painstaking, but most of all, they have been sanctifying. God clearly ordained my coming here for his glory and my good. The temporal training I received to become a flight attendant is utterly insignificant in comparison to the ways in which the gospel was made known among this group of trainees. On the drive here 7 weeks ago, my dad and I prayed that my time at training would be filled with opportunities to share the gospel and boldness in doing so. That simple prayer was lifted up countless times from so many different people. God heard our prayers and responded. He moved in great ways here and I am humbled to have been chosen as part of his plan to draw these people to himself.

"Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!"

Psalm 117

I wish I could sit down with each person reading this post and tell of God's greatness and the ways in which he included me in his work here. Needless to say, it was magnificent. I had an abundance of opportunities to share the gospel one-on-one and in groups. More often than not, the people I shared with were open and curious about my beliefs. Few times though, I did experience pushback and rejection of the gospel. In both circumstances, God used those conversations to draw myself closer to him and to make known to these people the salvation offered to them through Christ. My prayer is that those who heard will turn from their sinfulness and repent so that they might be reconciled to the God of the universe and join me as coheirs with Christ.

"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

Romans 8:16-17

I praise God for the challenges, frustrations, and exhaustion that flight attendant training brought. He used it to make me even more aware of my own human frailty and to conform me into a closer image of himself. Ultimately, that is all I want from this life. To know him and to make him known among all nations.

"But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

2 Corinthians 3:16-18

Give praise to God, beloved. He is deserving of your honor and worship. Give yourself to this, turn to the Lord, and allow the veil to be removed.