There is so much happening so quickly that my brain is struggling to pick out any one thing to focus on and write about. It is strange, and yet quite refreshing, to be in a place with like-minded people. Finding a place at a table where life and love and the confluence of the two are being discussed in healing ways is so life-giving. 

Last night, there was a group of six of us sitting and eating and sharing. Around that table, there were five different countries represented, all with different stories of how they have encountered evil... and how God is at work. We sat and talked for hours, sharing life and prodding thoughts progressively heavenward. It was incredible. I didn't know most of these people before today, but in so many ways, this is family. 

A year ago today, I posted on Facebook that I was preparing... I was going to a meeting to which I had been invited, but it very much felt dangerous. The contribution that I had to make was not popular or desirable. It did not feel safe to speak, and yet I didn't feel like I could stay silent. In many ways, this night felt like a nail in the coffin... that it was the beginning of the end. 

And I suppose it was.

It was the beginning of the end of doubting. It was the beginning of the end of fear. It was the beginning of the end of insecurity. It was the beginning of the end of sitting in the belly of the fish and wishing to see the sun. 

Just because fish guts were normal... even having become comfortable because of how long I had been sitting there, I feel like I was doing all I could to hide how messy I was from being there.  I put on makeup not for the joy of doing it, but as a way to hide how unworthy I felt to be in the spaces where God was leading. 

I was still hiding from who I had been created and called to be.

This morning, I got up and got ready for the day. No makeup was involved. I skipped it for many reasons (heat, sweat, exhaustion...) not the least of which was that it isn't needed here. Yesterday I met a few people, but this was the real beginning of the time here and the work that was being done, and I couldn't decide what to wear. I finally landed on identifying with the call that brought me here. 

The air here is thinner. Sometimes it's harder to breathe. But this morning, I am thankful for the cool air. I'm blessed to be in a space where God is at work. And I am challenged to boldly step into the role that he has for me on that journey, bare-faced and brave. 

That's Friday morning in a nutshell. Thanks for hanging with me.

I love you, friends!

💜💜💜