“To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.”
Psalm 25:1-11
These verses have guided and driven the first week of my sabbatical. This is more because of how much I struggle with trusting God with my whole self, rather than how easy it is for my to rely fully on God. Man, it’s a seriously hard thing to do! I get so caught up in the “to-dos” of daily life that I lean into taking every burden on myself. This sabbatical, for me, is to learn to trust God 100% in every aspect of life.
Through struggles and trials, this is especially important. Not only that, but really needed to not burn out and become totally overwhelmed. God is always there to keep these “enemies” from triumphing. For that, I am ever grateful. God takes the burden that I try to carry myself when I submit them to Him.
In the first week of my sabbatical, I spent time visiting family that I have not been able to spend hardly any quality time with over the last few years. I was in Bryan, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Specific activities included
- seeing two separate pair of aunts/uncles/nieces/nephews and their houses that I had never visited in their homes
- watching my little sister compete and bring home 3rd place in her school’s state basketball championship (!!!)
- meeting my brand new cousin, Maddox Rice, born March 1st
- running an obstacle course race/eating lunch with my uncle who I have not seen since my grandfather’s death 2 years ago
Honestly, most of this was NOT planned going into the week, but as doors were opened I decided to walk through them. For me, this was a small way I could trust God – in my daily plans throughout the week, I did not realize how much had happened until listing it out, but God truly created many ways for me to spend time with family and invest in those relationships – for that, I am very grateful!
This week will be for resting and getting into a little bit of service with the church I was raised at; I will be helping them set up for a mission trip I took part in as a high schooler. Looking forward to what God has in store for me this week!