Reconciliation.

     As you are reading this, I will be on the way to Houma, Louisiana to work with Samaritan’s Purse to do hurricane relief. What a privilege. I must say, the past month of training camp in Gainesville has been quite a whirlwind and I have experienced some of my highest highs and lowest lows. It would probably take a million words to sum up my experience here, so I thought I would instead write about something that was introduced to me and that I will continue to walk through for the rest of my life. I’m talking about reconciliation.

     A few Saturday’s ago, my squad and I went to an event in Atlanta called One Race, where we learned and heard so much about the Father’s heart for reconciliation among all of his children, old, young, black, white, big, small, etc.

     I went away from that day feeling very filled, but questioning what reconciliation really meant. I thought in my head, “I don’t have bad blood or tension with anybody really, so that doesn’t really apply to me!” Boy was I naive.

Reconciliation: an act of reconciling, as when former enemies agree to an amicable truce or the process of making consistent or compatible.

     Upon further consideration and in light of some recent events in my life, God showed me that before I could need reconciliation with anyone else, I needed reconciliation between myself and Him. I needed to to present myself to Him, raw and unworthy, all in the name of Jesus Christ who heals and calls us His.

Colossians 1:21-22: Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight.

     I am by no means an enemy of God, yet was acting like one. In all my pride and humanly nature, I believed I could control things better than He ever could. I alienate myself by separating areas of my life that I want Him in and trying to keep Him out of areas that I think I can handle on my own. In reality, it was all His to begin with. My life was His from my beginning.

     While this is not a new concept I’ve had to wrestle with, I am now in a time in my life where I really have no choice but to lay it all at His feet and rest in His wisdom. Over my life, over my family’s life, over everyone and everything really. There is nothing left to do but to bow to Him.

     In the days, months, and years to come I look forward to continuously being grateful for the reconciliation God has shown me through His son, and am eager to pour out the reconciliation that is offered to me every day to those around me. Thank you for reading, and I encourage you to continuously seek reconciliation and give as you first received. So much love, Alyssa <3