One Thing I Do:

Last week I took a personal retreat day.

It had been a long time coming. With everything winding down in time for me to leave on Jan 9th, I was still so caught up in trying to say goodbyes, that my heart and mind were not really prepared for what lies ahead. I needed some time just to spend with God.

That day, many thoughts filled the pages of my journal and many songs filled my heart, but one passage of scripture stood out to me. It was Philippians 3: 7-14. The apostle Paul here wrote about counting everything as loss for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus. He describes what it is like to press on toward the goal of the upward call of God, and it is this: "one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead"

So I too must forget what lies behind. Not that I am forgetting about everyone at home so that they no longer matter to me, but that I do not any longer grasp onto them. I must let go of everything that could potentially hold me back or hinder me from the work I go to do.

So that is my prayer, and I beg of you to pray the same thing for me; that I would be able to do this one thing: let go of what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead.
I will by no means abandon those I leave behind. I mean to keep in contact. But my focus is on the work the Lord gives, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and share in His sufferings.