Stripped Down

Today marks one month of Will and I living in South Sudan. We said, "Happy One Month" to each other this morning and then both simultaneously exclaimed, "We made it!!" haha. The best way to describe my emotions about this past month is to say that I feel completely stripped of everything that I used to run to as comfort, and on most days, feel completely exposed.

A beautiful tree on our
compound

God kept bringing me to John 15 this week. Specifically verse 2, which says, “He cuts off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

This is how I have felt this past month. As if the great gardener is pruning me. In the end, this is a very good thing because it means that I will bear more fruit. But you know what this month has taught me? Pruning is painful. It hurts. You feel exposed and vulnerable and as if you have nothing to cling to.

When we lived in the States, there were a lot of things that I could turn to for comfort on a hard day. These are things such as wasting time on the Internet, watching TV, drinking good coffee, eating chocolate, ice cream and other comfort foods, and spending time with good friends. Most of those comforts do not exist here. Food is extremely limited, Internet is limited and very spotty and it is very pricey to call friends from home. I have nowhere to run to. Most of my “outlets” do not exist here and comfort is something that is very hard to find here.

A mulberry tree on
our compound

But, God knows what He is doing. You prune a tree for a reason. It has to be done for the health and fruitfulness of the plant. It is the same with our spiritual life. Times of pruning and “stripping away” are crucial because they expose what is really going on in the heart. It is not always healthy that I run to comforts on a bad day because it means I’m not running to the One who can actually comfort me in a way that will last- my Creator and Father. Rather, I am running to a temporary fix. I am looking for something that will numb the pain. God has very gently been reminding me since we’ve been here that He is enough for me. He is showing me over and over again that He will sustain me and that He has Will and I here for a reason...even when it hurts.

So today, my trust is in the great gardener. I know that the tree that He plants and prunes will bear much fruit in its time. In the meantime, I will trust in the pruning process. I will rest in knowing that although it is painful, I am learning how to run to the Lord in times of difficulty rather than running to comforts that help ease the pain.

Will you please join us in prayer as we continue to learn what it means to abide in Christ and trust Him as we continue to adjust to life here in Mundri? Please pray that God would be our comfort and that we would run to our Father for peace and truth rather than trying to escape the pain. Thank you for being on this journey with us.