If you would have asked me ten years ago if I would be willing to be a missionary in Europe, I would have stopped you before you could even get to the word “Europe” – no way, that life isn’t possible for me. If current day Leslie would have met two years ago Leslie, we’d both laugh in each other’s faces about what we value, what we’re doing, and what our dreams look like.
And if I’m honest, I hope this pattern never really stops.
In my conversations with the Lord recently, I’ve just had this overwhelming sense that there is big transformation on the horizon. Not just for me, but there’s a move of the Lord to make all things new unlike anything I could ever ask, dream, or imagine. And while that’s very exciting, it’s also a bit unsettling.
But all transformation is unsettling. As I abide more with Jesus, the more everything that doesn’t reflect Christ gets unsettled, called out, and I’m invited to repentance that brings greater life, greater joy, and greater peace. That repentance leads to transformation – not by my own strength or might, but by God’s Spirit.
I’ve found the only thing in the way of my transformation with Christ is myself – I get distracted by other things and Christ no longer holds my attention and adoration. Or I decide in myself to have a go on the throne in order to be in control. And even still, the Holy Spirit moves to unsettle me – nothing else satisfies like abiding with Jesus and no one rules from the throne like King Jesus.
I hope by the time this little reflective writing hits my inbox, I’m already different than the Leslie who wrote it. I hope that I can become more and more attentive to the invitations that Jesus has for me. I hope I can walk deeper in submission to Holy Spirit in and through me. I hope I am quick to repent. And I hope I am daily transforming into a person of deeper love, peace, hope, and joy.
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