In the spring of 2008, I was involved with a ministry called Kairos Outside. This is an international prison ministry that holds retreat weekends throughout the year for women who have loved ones incarcerated. This ministry connected me with some great people! During the weekends, the guests (people who attended the weekend for the first time) experience the love of Christ through a series of events. I had attended a weekend as a guest in 2006 (a great experience), and was now serving as a team member. Each weekend has a leader who is responsible for assembling a team and facilitating the weekend. The leader is also responsible for choosing the theme for the weekend. For this weekend, my sister, Marisa Pineda, chose "Enjoy the Journey" as her theme. At the time, enjoying the journey was the farthest thing from my mind!
Just a few months earlier, my marriage of 5 years had ended in divorce. This was a very devastating and painful time for me. Most of my family and friends didn't even know until it had already happened. I didn't want to share my pain with anyone. I knew I was obedient in doing what God had told me to do, and I could not understand why this was happening to me. So the thought of "Enjoy the Journey" was not something I could think about doing. During this particular Kairos Outside weekend, I was assigned to speak on the topic "Rejection". I guess God knew that's how I was feeling. That was just one of the many different feelings I felt. However, I wore a mask to make everyone think I was okay. I hid behind my faith and pretended like I understood. But really I didn't. I didn't understand if God loved me so much, why was He allowing me to experience so much pain. If I was His child, why did He not protect me! If I was obedient to doing what He wanted me to do, why did He allow the enemy to steal, kill, and destroy my marriage! I had so many questions I needed God to answer. I could not imagine ever being able to say I was enjoying the journey. It's been 10 years now, and God has given me peace and has answered all the questions I had. I now know that nothing happened that He didn't allow. And everything He allowed to happen was and is all for His greater purpose!
In my last post, I talked about the connections I've made along my life's journey. Many of these connections have been vital to helping me enjoy my journey. As I stated in my previous post, these connections were all for a purpose. God's purpose! He knew who and what I needed to encourage me along the way! Throughout each season of my journey, I have great memories! When I reflect on the last 10 years, God has allowed me to experience many people and things that have been a part of me enjoying my journey!
The picture at the beginning of this post was taken earlier this month. It's a picture of me getting a henna tattoo at school! Yes, at school! Well, as you can see, there are no children in my classroom. The holy month for Muslims (known as Ramadan) began at the end of May. After the first week, the students at my school stopped coming to school, even though their last day was supposed to be June 22nd. So on this particular day, one of the cleaners at the school decided to do henna tattoos. And since I had a lot of time on my hands (literally and pun intended), I joined in on the fun! Here's another picture of me getting tatted!
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| This is what happens when the students don't come to school and you have too much time on your hands! LOL! |
I must say being in Abu Dhabi has definitely been an interesting experience. This has been another one of those seasons God has allowed in my life to experience people and things to be a part of me enjoying my journey! When I first came, my focus was strictly on God's purpose for sending me here. While I had some enjoyable moments, I was more focused on my purpose than I was enjoying my journey. But now I understand that God wants me to do both. He wants me to fulfill my purpose, but He also wants me to enjoy this season of my journey! So, for however long He has for me to be here, I will be enjoying the journey! As the scripture at the beginning of this post says, God is making known to me the path of my life, and I am finding and experiencing the fullness of joy in His presence!
I am His,
Faith Walker
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