My second chance at re-entry! the do’s and do not’s

I’ll be honest. Re-entry is a hard process; that’s just the nature of it. It’s a lot of things that you will have to adjust to coming from a foreign country, living in World Race community, back to a totally different culture in America. There’s many things that aren’t under your control. BUT there’s hope! Because you C A N control many aspects of re-entry. So here are some of my learned lessons. The do’s and do not’s of re-entry!

DO 

do consider taking a break from social media. Believe me, I did not come up with this one on my own. It was the Spirit’s leading for sure. But, I’m seeing so much fruit in my life right now, that the fight against my flesh in the beginning was A L L worth it. So why would you even consider this? Taking a break from social media has eliminated FOMO, comparison, distractions, and unhealthy worldly influence in my life. I was full on submerged in social media when I came home from the Race the first time around. I struggled a lot with feeling lonely and even doubting why I had chosen this new life I had with Jesus over all these other things. I struggled with body image and comparison again. For me, social media was the way that I unknowingly allowed all these unhealthy things back into my life. And it did nothing but discourage and distract me from keeping my eyes fixed on the Lord. I didn’t even realize all this until the second time I came home after team leading! Not having social media this time around has helped me to be present where my feet are (goodbye FOMO), to actually believe that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (goodbye comparison), to have more time to seek the Lord (goodbye distractions), and to purify my heart because I am looking to the Word for Jesus’ influence in my life (goodbye unhealthy worldly influences.) Don’t get me wrong. I think that a lot of beauty can come out of social media, but maybe pray about if social media will help you or harm you more in this time where you already may be feeling more susceptible to the enemy’s attacks. Taking a break from social media has been S O refreshing. 

do continue to spend time with the Lord everyday. it can be hard. If you’re like me, I never had a daily routine with the Lord before the Race. So it was kind of weird coming back home and realizing that I probably now needed one here. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to stick to your spiritual rhythms. It’s not about finding stability in having a rhythm – that’s not the point. The point is that spiritual rhythms are ways that you’ve found to make room for the Lord in your life. What you need most in a transition this big is to A B I D E in the Lord. So sticking to your rhythms creates the T I M E + S P A C E for you to be with the Lord. He is the One that will be your constant in this time of change. The first time I came home, I didn’t always fight for this time with Him. Second time, I learned my lesson. Fight for your time with Him. Yes, maybe even sacrifice some sleep. It’s beyond worth it. 

do process on your knees + in the Word. probably some of the best advice I’ve ever received. Thank you Charity Spragg! I didn’t do either of these things the first time I came home and I think it would have made a world of a difference if I had. Actually physically being down on my knees in prayer, worship, crying, mourning, laughing and celebrating in this season has been so life changing. It has allowed my heart to align with my body’s posture as I acknowledge God’s sovereignty over everything. Being on my knees before Him has reminded me of the reliance on God that we truly need. I can’t do anything apart from Him. I need Him for everything. There’s just something about being on your knees before the Lord that is so holy. It aligns your spirit with His in a whole new way. The first time I came home from the Race, I rode the rollercoaster of my emotions A LOT. Not always the most fun thing to ride when you’re trying to transition back to life in America. This time, I knew that I needed to choose to rely on the promises of God in His word. I didn’t have to let feelings control me. Over every feeling I felt, I declared one of God’s promises           O V E R my feeling. God promises and proves Himself to be a G O O D  G O D in the Bible. So often times when I was feeling so many different emotions as a result of the transition, I would write them down in my journal then write the promise over the emotion. I wrote G O O D over every single emotion I felt because God is good and He is never changing. And He is working all things out for the good of those who love Him. This doesn’t mean that I never let myself feel my emotions, but it does mean that I didn’t let them have the final word. God’s Word is the final word.

DON’T 

don’t disobey the leadings of the Spirit. seems obvious doesn’t it? why would I disobey God? well, for some reason, it’s the scheme of the enemy to make us think that the boldness and confidence we walked in when we were out on the field doesn’t exist back here in America. But here’s why it’s so important to push past this lie. When we’re disobedient, we harden our hearts towards something the Spirit is trying to do not only in the world, but in us. If we harden our hearts to it, it might be harder for us to hear the Spirit’s leading next time he nudges us to do something. I struggled with believing this lie that I wasn’t as bold or confident in America A LOT the first time I came home. Often times, the lie won over my obedience to the Lord. And it really hurt me because I slowly but surely began to notice that it was harder and harder for me to recognize the Spirit’s nudging. And then I was so sad, because I felt like I couldn’t hear from the Spirit as well as I used to. C H O O S E  R A D I C A L  O B E D I E N C E. This time around, even when it’s hard, even when it’s awkward, even when it’s inconvenient, I have been that much more intentional to obey the Spirit’s leading. And you know what? God has so abundantly blessed me in the people He has led me to, the conversations I’ve walked into, and in the ways my faith has grown. And it’s because I’ve chosen obedience. Sometimes I still say no, but God has so much grace for me. And He takes my hand and let’s me try again. So even if you say no the first time, take His hand when He offers you to try another time. Again, it’s so beyond worth it.

don’t choose anything but to walk in humility. God revealed something so beautiful and so terrifying to me my first week of re-entry after team leading. Completion is brokenness. His completion is my brokenness. He can do His work and make me complete when I choose to bow before Him and give Him my brokenness. He makes my brokenness complete. This one was really hard for me. I like to have everything together in life. This time of re-entry, I chose to acknowledge actually how broken, sad, and sometimes hopeless, I felt. And then I surrendered all of that to the Lord. And H E  U S E D  I T  A L L. He turned every broken tear I cried into hope I’ve never felt before. He used every prayer I cried out and turned it into new levels of trust in how He has been, is, and will continue to take care of every single one of His children. He used my mourning and pain and turned it into joy. Psalm 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” Choosing humility this time around meant feeling some pretty hard things. Instead of just pretending to have it all together, like it was easy to do the first time I came home, I chose to feel the brokenness and then run to His arms. And in His presence, He brought me a new fullness of joy unlike anything I’ve ever known. Psalm 30:5 says, “weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Humbling myself before the Lord in weeping, on my knees in prayer, and in fasting, has grown my faith in crazy ways!

don’t jump into things too quickly. first time around, I was so excited to see everyone and do everything, and I quickly wore myself out. Let’s be honest, none of us are our best selves when we’re exhausted, myself included. This time around, I was very careful to be a good steward of my time. I knew that I needed a lot of time to process everything I had just experienced. The Lord told me this one morning in my quiet time. “Process. Talk to me about it all. What you experienced is unlike most things you will experience. Process and take away important lessons. The world will tell you to rush, but take time to remember and prepare for what’s ahead.” praying. pondering. pausing. processing. All things that are so good. I love writing, so processing has looked like a lot of writing, but also a lot of praying. I also have been looking at photos and reading through notes from the Race and putting them into a journal. The Bible talks a lot about how the Israelites strayed because they didn’t remember what God had done for them. Remembrance empowers your faith. Faith is the opposite of fear. Fear is crushed when we remember God’s faithfulness.

Remember the season for everything it was. Take away the important things that empower your faith. Share those things and empower others in their faith. And then run full speed ahead into what God has next for you (after pausing first, of course!).

You’ve got this, because you have Jehovah Shammah (the Lord is here). He’s right beside you. I pray that you would run to Him time and time again. In the good and the hard of re-entry.