A lot of things have been happening. My life has come to this place where, somehow, it is full to the brim while we are still in quarantine. But I am not busy. Rather, I am living life to the fullest I can.
I do not like to tell people I am busy. When I say that, “I’m good, just busy” I feel like that means I am constantly working and serving. Honestly, that’s not the case.
Yes, I have school. Yes, I have been building an online ministry for my classmates through Instagram while we are all separate. But I am not busy. I am living without being too occupied for the things that really matter in my life. I would like to share how I have been living, and also possibly share a little about how God is currently working in my life, which, for me, has been a transformation from how a lot of people have seen me before we all entered quarantine. Honestly, I am proud to say that a lot of people are going to see how God has been changing me into this new identity I have stepped into.
At Rancho, I received this prophetic word from one of the leaders at the Mission about an identity change. Specifically, she went on about the Disney character Maui and his transformation throughout the movie Moana. It was weird hearing that I was like Maui, because I always joke around with my family and with my friends about how much I was like Maui, but I never really meant it. When I got the word, I was thinking that it didn’t apply to me, but Maui was cool so whatever.
Boy, was I wrong.
I have shared my heart with you guys, especially in these last two posts from May. It wasn’t until I was listening to another prophetic word someone gave to me this weekend that I realized the Maui prophetic word was totally straight on. It literally described the whole month of May in one word (that is, “Maui”).
Like I said in the beginning, we have started School of Missions again for its third trimester online. It’s very different, but it still has the great content. There are two books we are currently reading that have been what has been transforming me the most–The Shack and Culture of Honor (which y’all need to read those). At first I didn’t think I was going to get a lot out of it, but it has led me into this new world of understanding God even more and walking in healing processes I didn’t even know I needed.
But reading those books has taught me so much. Like I am so full of life and love from this new identity from these books that it has rubbed off on the atmospheres of the people closest to me (physically and relationally). I have been emboldened by the Holy Spirit Himself because I was willing to make the changes in my life that I needed to.
I can totally share about that more if you have any questions, but I want to continue because there’s a lot. Feel free to email me or message me on social media.
Next thing. In the middle of April God set on my heart to start a type of weekly devotionals on Instagram for the students at the Mission. So many of us were always in the group chat that we have saying that we all missed each other and things like that. However, it wasn’t until the end of April that I actually started–mainly after a good kick in the butt from God. So I set it up. I asked a few of my friends to help me and set them in positions where I knew they would best help me to fulfill this vision that God gave me.
It’s going great! I have so many friends that want to share their hearts in devotionals every week. The revelations shared on Instagram (@devocionaleslamision if you want to check it out) are so powerful. Most of them have hit me personally because they have to do with things that God has been speaking to me about. I love it.
Thirdly, I have been resting. I know I spoke about this in one of my earlier posts, but I am in this learning process of how I should rest. This is something I struggle with, because I always need to be doing something.
But I am learning from resting. There have been many days when I am listening to my body, and I know that I am exhausted. I decided to sleep in, watch Netflix, read and write–and I learned it’s OK! Honestly, I hate not being active and not feeling productive. God has shown me, however, that resting like this is being productive. I am not lazy.
I have taken advantage of that and learned how to rest. It’s a sabbath for me. Since I learned how to do this, I entered this state where I am a lot better about listening to my body and knowing my needs. And I feel so good!
This is the fourth I desire to share in this update. And it’s also the last one I will focus on, but it’s about the soul. We, as humans, are made up of body, soul and spirit. While we talk a lot about our bodies–keeping them healthy and eating right–and our spirits, which is satisfied by worship and the heavenly things, we tend to forget about our soul. The soul is important, but very much neglected due to a lack of knowledge.
How does one fill their soul? By things they love. Do you love to hike? Soul-filling. Do you enjoy eating delicious foods? Spending time with friends? If you think about these things and it makes you smile and you feel good just by the thought of it, those are things that fill your soul.
We are all created uniquely, which means we all fill our souls differently. Honestly, at Rancho, I had no idea what filled my soul–what made me feel so happy. With quarantine, I have taken advantage to find things that fill my soul.
One of those things that I got to fulfill is going to the beach. This is a major soul-filler for me. I feel closest to God when I am there. Not only that, but I love the sounds of the ocean and walking in the sand. Thinking about that just makes me feel so good.
This past week I traveled to Cape May, New Jersey with my family. Our hotel was a one-minute walk to the beach, so I spent as much time as possible out there in the ocean and walking on the sand. This was for hours at a time.
I even came across new friends. I don’t know why there are so many types of crabs, but they are pretty crazy to look at. Something else I got to do was collect seashells. If you have ever spent time with me at the beach before, you probably noticed that some days I can collect so many seashells and honestly would spend the whole time doing that. I love seashells. Whenever I go to the beach, I talk with Holy Spirit and He leads me to some amazing shells. It’s just something we do.
The last night we were at the beach we got to be on the sand until around 9:30 at night. The waves were crazy to watch! And I just soaked in everything I could during the night, and there was almost no one on the beach–maybe five other people. But GOSH it was good.
That is essentially what I wanted to share. I desired to show you what I have been doing, because this will all change very soon. As you probably see in your own lives, quarantine is coming to an end. While life may not be back to normal right away, we are beginning to see stores open and less people becoming sick.
With this happening, I am officially proud to announce that I will be going back to Mexico by the end of this month–somewhere around the 29th of June. I am so thankful to have this opportunity to serve and to learn more about God, myself and our relationship. Even with this, I am excited to be able to share about how God is moving in Mexico through me and my friends, so I will be happy to share updates about what we are doing in Mexico.
I also want to take a moment to ask that if any of you would consider donating to me or sponsoring me, I would greatly appreciate it. I still have to finish paying for tuition, which is about $975, but alongside that I still need money to pay for groceries, clothing, plane tickets, and also to be able to take opportunities (such as vacation time with my friends) on the available weekends. If this seems like an interest to you, please let me know. I am happy to answer any questions you may have as well!
If you don’t feel comfortable sending money, but would still like to give, I am happily accepting care packages with things like food, board games, movies, clothes, or hygiene products, which would mean not needing to spend as much money. Again if this interests you, please let me know. If you would like more information about what I need/would like specifically, there is a list called “Current Needs” in one of the links above, which you are welcome to take a look at.
I appreciate all of you who are reading this and have been invested in my blog so far. It means so much to me that there are people that have a desire to know what my life has been looking like. I invite you to message me at any point, if you want to talk, share your feelings, or get to know me. I love people, especially those I don’t know personally well. So please message me.
I love you guys!
JULIA MCKENNA MYERS 