Today is the day that we have been waiting for!! In roughly 9 hrs. Rachel will board a plane and leave her family, her friends, her BED, her job, her car, her airconditioning, her TV, her IPHONE -- to embark on a dream that she has carried in her heart for many years. We are sending off 1 of our arrows out of our quiver and believing God that she will land EXACTLY where HE has planned. Faith we are using, trust, we are leaning on and excitement is in our bones for her!! Israel is her destination but if it was only that simple. It is really to big to understand the God that we serve in our day to day life. We go along life thinking that our life is ho-hum, not realizing that every step, every move, every decision - has such eternal consequences. As we have reflected with Rachel on what the Lord has in store for her and in store for the people that she is going to - it starts to become evident that 24 years of serving Him, are coming into play. If we only could ALL think this way every day that we wake up - we would be much more effective for HIS Kingdom!
Rach is 1 of those people that serves and serves and serves - because it's WHO she is. To tell her she couldn't serve would be like asking her to cut off her right arm. She has so many amazing qualities and I think the people that are going to be able to get to know her, be ministered to by her and loved on by her are VERY blessed. All of this process of GOING is not only hard but VERY FRIGHTENING for her. The enemy that tries to lie to her and make her feel "she can't" - is at work and trying hard!! She has already grown on her journey and at the end of this small journey of 3 months - her Spirit man will be double in size (figuratively of course)!! In the last 9 mths Rachel has had some battles that she has OVERCOME in regard to fear, anxiety, panic - she got the victory but it cost her a lot. Her peace of mind was a battlefield and her faith was tested. She didn't think she could get through it but SHE DID!! So to get on a plane in now 8 1/2 hrs. and go BY HERSELF on a 18 HOUR travel day, ALL BY HERSELF - to a country that is in turmoil - 1,000's of miles from home! It's a MIRACLE people!! A miracle that 6 to 9 mths ago I questioned could happen. BUT...our God is SO BIG!! He is SO AMAZING - He has shown Himself faithful and true beyond our wildest dreams!! This isn't for Rachel a 3 month trip to Israel and everything that will come with it - this is her MOUNTAIN that she has had to climb and will continue to climb. I think her trek up her mountain started when she made the decision she would go - then she went a few more steps up when she bought her ticket - then the last few months of believing God for the provision to go - then all the preparation - then in the last week she hit a very steep, pretty much straight up part on her mountain climb. The remembering of the pain attacks, the anxiety, the arm going numb, the fainting, the sick to her stomach - the disgusting, hideous, vile, horrible spirit of FEAR!! Because if you don't know the Word of God, fear is a spirit straight from the pit of hell! So, this last week has been a full on sprint up that steep part on her mountain. Wednesday was tough - a call to her Daddy asking, "am I really suppose to go and can I do this" was followed by I WILL NOT serve 2 masters! Either I am going to trust the Lord or I am going to believe the lies of the enemy!! Her choice was to trust in a God that is beyond trustworthy, our God that has NEVER let us down! So up and over that steep part of her mountain she went. Then yesterday came and this wonderful, glorious GRACE started to appear in her - this GRACE that truly is AMAZING! I had been reminding her that WHEN the time came she would feel that Grace come on her! But at the end of that mountain climb is a WONDERFUL MOUNTAIN TOP!! And we all know what you see at the top - you see everything - everything becomes clear. What comes clear is the why I went through that - for who I went through that - the purposes! You see I have had my fair share of mountain climbing and I can confidently look her in the eyes and tell her the Lord is your EVERYTHING through the climb!!
So we went through all the getting packed which is a blog in itself that I must blog about because she needs to remember it all the days of her life. But she is packed and her bags are both over the 50 lbs but we don't care - we will pay the money to get everything to Israel that the Benjamins need and want - and everything that she needs and wants! She will be getting up in about an hr. and we will have a last minute push for the last minute things that have kept me up all night - thinking in my head about them. We will ALL get ready and then THE MOST IMPORTANT thing that we will do as a family - we will pray over her and have communion together. We will then ALL go to the airport and send her off to her DREAMS!! Trusting her with the Lord because OH MY, He is trustworthy. We will put her in His care for the next 3 mths. and see her off to not 1 of the safest places on Earth but she WILL be in THE SAFEST place because she will be under His wing!!
To say I am proud of her is an understatement. I don't think I could do what she is doing all by myself. She is doing it afraid and the Lord is so graciously walking her through every little step!! She is such a STRONG woman of God! We are going to miss her SO MUCH! Pray for her if the Lord puts her in your thoughts or on your heart. I know she will be praying FERVENTLY for all of us!! We will be able to probably talk to her daily because of skype and the Lord provided her with an amazing computer that will keep us in touch. She will go and face SO MANY of her fears - she will own the victories - and THEN she will be able to give away to someone else, her revelations. Because you can't give away something you don't own. If I try to share with someone about marriage and children and I've never been married or had children - I wouldn't be very effective, powerful or anointed to minister on those subjects. But when someone comes to her in the future and says I am afraid, I'm dealing with this or that - she will OWN the revelation of that and she will be POWERFUL to help bring truth, revelation and victory to that person. God is SO GOOD!! It's all a wonderful but not always easy JOURNEY!! She is going to do wonderful!! I will blog about the airport trip hopefully when we get home! I LOVE YOU RACHEL, we will PRAY for you always!! -- go in PEACE and serve God well...
