My Cup Runneth Over

I've just returned from the Montana Missions trip with the high schoolers from my church. My body is drained, but my heart is so full. There were so many trials during those 12 days but I was reminded daily of God's presence in so many ways. The scenery was truly indescribable. I would be hard pressed to find words even to touch the surface of how amazing God's creation is. Mountains, even clouded by smoke from forest fires, are a sight to behold. There is nothing like grasping just a little bit of the enormity and beauty of God, and then realizing the minority of ourselves. In turn however I then catch a glimpse into God's truly amazing grace. That a God of such power, such greatness, a God of such sheer magnitude and beauty would choose me to be His daughter is not only beyond my mind, but beyond me completely- body and soul. It's humbling beyond description and because of that it inspires love- now I get why we love Him, because He loved us first. This personal time of fellowship with God was so crucial for me in preparation for the hard times to come. Because of You, Lord God, my cup runneth over.
God also reminded me of the importance of other people in our lives. Every single person on the trip contributed either to my encouragement or to my learning a lesson God had for me. I learned more about myself through watching others that I care to admit. I saw extremes of my own personality often and was reminded how God has brought me through and taught me... and how we still have a long way to go together. I love girls. Of course sometimes girls can be annoying but I just love laughing with girls. Boys just don't get things the way we do. I love boys too though. It's funny that when boys are boys they spend a lot of their time play-acting as if they were men and then once they become men they spend a lot of their time acting like boys again. Either way, it's endearing... mostly. :) I think one of my favorite parts of the trip was when Ryan, Tim and Jacquelyn wanted to swim across Avalanche Lake. Though I have no doubts that they all had the strength to do it, the water was much too cold... I mean come on... it was just a glacier. My favorite part about that is they stood knee deep in the water knowing full well how cold it was and against all odds, they counted to three together and jumped in to swim it. Even though they only made it about 10 yards out before they turned around to come back, they still jumped in. That's just awesome.

I saw teens that I knew when they were no more than 5 years old step up as mature spiritual adults and take on the task of presenting the gospel, pure and simple, to those that are lost. I saw each one of the team fighting the fight and it did my soul good. To God be the glory, great things He has done! In terms of success, God was glorified on this trip, and that is why I went. That is why I will go in less than 3 weeks. That is why I will always go. If it is indeed true that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, then He is perhaps more glorified in me now in my life than ever before. My cup truly does run over.