If you don’t believe God exists or cares about you, go travel somewhere, anywhere.
This is what I have been telling people in response to the question, “So what did you learn while abroad?”
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I like to be in control.
For example, if I’m going somewhere with friends I will volunteer to drive. If I don’t drive, then I’ll navigate. If I don’t navigate, then I will plan what to do once we arrive. You see what I mean?
It is hard to always want to be in control because I know I need to learn to completely trust God. I’ve tried a lot over the years to learn to trust Him, but it wasn’t until I travelled that I fully embraced giving it all to the Lord.
I went to Switzerland independently. My university offers study abroad options with a group of students who travel together, led by one of our professors. I chose to apply to a country my school did not go to and to go without knowing another person who resided in this beautiful country. Although that sounds dramatic, I really did feel alone in the whole process. I even applied to have a Swiss student lead me from the airport to my residence (a 40 minute train ride, followed by a bus ride) but I never received a reply. I took it upon myself to plan every aspect of my trip because I knew I did not have anyone else to rely on.
He was beginning to teach me to trust Him with everything.
So rewind to seven days before I was supposed to leave for Switzerland. My visa still had not been approved. It took about three weeks longer than was estimated. I emailed and made phone calls furiously trying to fix the situation. My visa application was still in Switzerland! How could it get back to the consulate in New York City in just a week! I cried and prayed for nearly a day, the last day I thought I had enough time to get the visa. I thought for sure this was the end. That same day I took a walk and prayed the whole time telling God, “I know this is in Your hands. If this trip to Switzerland is not meant to be, then I don’t want to go. I want to be where You want me to be, Lord.” I have no idea where those words came from, certainly not from this control freak. I was suddenly overwhelmed with an acceptance for whatever the Lord had in store for me for the next six months.
The next morning I woke up around 3am to make a call when the visa office opened in Switzerland. Before I could even call I received an email saying my visa had been approved and I had to mail my passport to NYC. Just hours before, I had accepted that I may not go to Switzerland at all. I was ecstatic! This was the first of many times in my travels over the next few months where I would have no other choice but to completely rely on the Lord. He was beginning to teach me to trust Him with everything.
The Lord is not only a caring father (or mother, or however you see God), but the most present and forgiving friend.
While I travelled I learned to pray specific prayers to ask for help from God. One of my favorite ways to see God at work was to pray to find a friend when I was traveling solo. When I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, I asked the Lord to send another young person traveling alone to my tour group so that I might have a friend during the long and somber tour. I stepped onto the tour bus, holding my breath as I saw many older couples sitting side-by-side. I was sure I would be alone all day, until I saw a young woman in the last row sitting by herself. She was looking for a friend, too! Her wide smile when she saw me confirmed it: God had answered my prayers.
I did the same thing when I went to a Rend Collective concert in London. I invited so many friends, but finally had to accept that I would go alone. Who goes to a concert alone?! I prayed the same prayer asking for a friend and met the most amazing young woman, also traveling solo, while waiting in line for the concert. We sang together and caught up like old friends, and God spoke to me so clearly that night. He used a song I had been listening to on repeat weeks before to tell me that He was pleased with me and I was exactly where I needed to be.
Don’t let the hard times make you question God’s love and presence.
I walked through a lot while studying abroad. From missed and cancelled flights, cities where I didn’t speak the language, to a quickly diminishing number in my bank account, the Lord kept me close and showed me His heart. He is just so loving! I am only beginning to see how much He truly loves and cares for us. God was so patient with teaching me how to trust and see Him in everything. I always felt His presence in the midst of my struggle to learn to give Him my worries and give up control. He showed me that I was never alone. I always had Him to rely on, talk to, and to ask for help and guidance. The Lord is not only a caring father (or mother, or however you see God), but the most present and forgiving friend.
Do I still worry and seek to control sometimes?
Of course, sweets! I’m only human, after all. What I’ve learned is that there’s no reason to worry when the Maker of the Universe is on your side. There is so much hope even in the midst of struggles. I don’t need to control everything because I serve a God who has it under control. He has taken the time to prove it to me again and again. When I begin to worry, I remind myself of the Rend Collective lyric, “What’s true in the light is still true in the dark.” God was good to me then and protected me and loved me, He still has it under control. Don’t let the hard times make you question God’s love and presence. After all, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.
What have you been learning from God lately? Do you struggle with trusting the Lord? Peace and blessings,
Shaina
