Destiny.

For any of you who have been wondering whether I'm actually at a missions/photo training school or just chilling at the beach... CLASSES STARTED TODAY!! 

For the next three months, my days will follow a similar schedule: BIble/missions training in the morning, work duty in the afternoons (yay, recycling!), and photography training in the evenings. I woke up this morning full of excitement to dig into the "meat"--to begin exploring the richness of God in the course material laid out for us over the next three months. Each week will have a different area of focus. The focus for this week is learning how to recognize and hear God's voice. 

As I was sitting in lecture this morning, I was contemplating hearing God's voice, the times when I have clearly heard God's voice, and the times in the past when I have been desperate to hear from God and received no response. The times I have most sought to hear directly from Him is when I am seeking direction for my life. 

What God wants most from me is relationship. For my whole life, I have been concerned about my life purpose and somehow "missing" it... From a young age, I read stories of heroic, nation-changing men and women who fulfilled an earth-shattering destiny for God. I grew up asking, "God, what is my destiny? What am I going to do with my life? Why am I here on earth?" I have been terrified at different periods throughout my life of missing out on my destiny. But Jesus' answer to that question is, "Seek me." His heart cry is for intimacy with us, His people. So often people run around busying themselves doing the work of God. But they miss out on the most important thing, and God's greatest desire for them--relationship. 

This thought came to me as a great relief, because always worrying about "missing" God's purpose for me is stressful!! But if I am passionately pursuing intimacy with Jesus, then I cannot miss His plan for me--I will be leaving it day by day. Intimacy is the key, and everything--guidance, direction, future plans, answers to questions, etc.--stems from that. Rather than being concerned about finding and fulfilling God's "huge" destiny for my life, I need to be consumed with passion for my relationship with Jesus. God will lead me into my destiny, step by step, as I am in a place of constant worship. It may not all make sense; it may look like we're jumping off a cliff into a vast unknown, it may look like life is taking a series of steps that lead nowhere, or creates a maze (like the view from "down below" rather than a plane window). But he will faithfully direct each step, and give me the next piece of the puzzle in His time. All I need to do is worship, and rest in His present. And keep walking. We can never just stand; when we are moving, God can lead us and even redirect us if we are going the wrong direction. But if we stand still, we get stuck in place... like a little goat I used to have who's hooves got stuck in the mud (he later died of bloation). 

Jesus does have a destiny for every person. But that destiny could be doing high-profile work that will effect nations for generations to come, or it could be wiping a tear from the face of one of His hurting child that no one else sees, or it could be serving a mission base by collecting and sorting mountains of recycled products, as I will spend my afternoons doing for the next few months. 

I have a mail address now and would love to hear from you!

Mail can be addressed to the following:

Hannah Rexroth

University of the Nations-photogenX DTS

75-5851 Kuakini Hwy. #430

Kailua-Kona, HI 96740