The 1st Dear ____________ Post

I will now be doing a weekly Sunday post, entitled, Dear __________. 

This is where I write mini letters to anything my random, scattered mind thinks up. :) ...and who knows, maybe it'll give you, my faithful readers, a little glimpse into my life. * Oh and I, with permission, stole the idea for these posts from a missionary friend, Jenn. Check her blog out. She and her husband are missionaries in Senegal (and are pretty cool too). :)

And now, without further ado, for the 1st Dear ______________ Post...

Dear Strawberries, You are so delicious! Why do you have to only show up for a little over a month out of the year? I'm hurrying now to eat or freeze as much as I can before you disappear again.

Dear Hot Tea, I'm sorry I've missed out on your goodness all my life. Thanks to a sore throat that's lasted for what seems forever, you and I have been almost constant companions. I especially like you when you let your friends, lemon and honey, join you. Thanks for your help.

Dear 5:00 a.m., You are so early, but I've enjoyed getting to see you more often. Now that I'm waking up with you so I can go walking/jogging, my days seem to be going a lot better.

Dear Proverbs 31:25, I want to be the type of woman you describe. I want to be strong and dignified. I want to laugh, without fear of the future.

Dear Taco Bell, Oh how I miss you! Once or twice a year is definitely not enough. Thankfully, I have a few sauce packets left to use when I make tacos here. Otherwise, my :) would definitely be a :(.

Dear People That Write Me Encouraging Notes, You rock! My love language is definitely encouraging words. I love writing notes to people far more than receiving them, but man, is it nice to get a simple note that says, I'm praying for you or You're doing a good job or anything else! Talk about a mood booster! :)

Dear Senegalese Children Playing Outside My Window, I love hearing you laughing, talking, and playing. I have no clue what you're saying, but it's obvious that you're having the times of your life. You definitely make my afternoons/evenings so much sweeter by hearing your sweet voices.

Dear Flu/Cold/Whatever It Is I Had, I HATE HATE HATE being sick. So, the fact that you've hung around this past week has annoyed me big time. Feel free to leave ASAP! On another note, I am very happy that that bottle of cough syrup caught my eye on my last Target run before I left the States in January. :)

Dear Dirty Dishes, Washing you has always been my least favorite chore. But in the last week or so, I've started looking at my time with you differently. I pray. I sing. I listen to music. I listen to sermon podcasts. I spend time with my Jesus while washing you. Therefore I will say something that will shock my mother and any roommate I've ever had... I, Elisabeth Nichols, actually don't mind washing dishes anymore. You may all show your shocked face. I know. It shocked me too. :)

Dear People Wanting to Travel, Feel free to come and visit me! I'd love to show you my adopted home country. It may be hot and dusty, but it's a lot of fun! :)

A Lesson from God

I have been saved since I was a little girl. And sure I've sinned, but I've never strayed very far from the path. Throughout school I was labeled the "Good Girl" because of the stance I took against certain things. I went to church, prayed, read my Bible, did devotions, taught Sunday School and Children's Church, spoke in church services, and even became a missionary. 

So why is it that at 26 1/2 years old, I am FINALLY learning how to live in complete peace with God? Why did I wait that long to completely give all of my troubles to God? Why did I wait this long to stop relying on friends, mentors, and other humans, and to learn to rely fully on the One who created me? 

A couple weeks ago, I was literally crying out to God to remove loneliness from my heart. I was crying out to God that it just wasn't fair that I was all alone. It was when I finally stopped crying and just cleared my mind and listened for God that He directed me to Psalm 40:1-6.

1 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3 He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD. 4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud, or in those who worship idols. 5 O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. 6 You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand... (NLT)

This was exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the moment I needed to hear it. And now God has been teaching me with these verses for the past couple weeks. The first verse that caught my eye was part of verse 6, Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand. When God finally got me to shut up and stop my crying, I was able to listen to Him. I was able to finally understand. 

Then God told me the following... 

For too long you have depended on man. You have depended on people that will fail you. You cry to me that people hurt you. You cry to me that people leave you. But never once have you said I am enough. I, the God that created you, am enough for you. I am all you need. People will fail you. I will never leave you. Give all you have to me. Turn your heart to me. Let me heal you. Let me lead you. Let me love you. Let me be your friend.

Talk about putting me in my place! Parents discipline their children to help them. So does God. When we need to be corrected, He does so. When we need to be taught a lesson, He does so. And I'm so thankful that God taught me this lesson. ...even if it took him 26 1/2 years to get me to listen. :)