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Thursday, July 29, 2010

Trusting God In the Desert



So, in a couple of months, it will have already been 1 entire year since I moved here to Arizona. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by! I recently found a ring that I used to wear when I lived in California that has some pretty significant meanings behind it for me.

Let me give you a little history of the ring....

It's a cheap, $7 ring that I purchased from Disneyland years ago. When I purchased it, I prayed, "God, this ring represents all of my hopes, my wishes and my dreams." Each sparkle of the heart-shaped center rhinestone reminded me of the dreams that I had for my life...to get married, to have kids, etc.

I wore that ring for probably about 5 years, everyday, all day and all night long. Even though I stopped wearing the ring about a year ago, there is still a light imprint of the ring on my skin from where it used to be--I wore it that long and that often. But even after wearing it for so long, it was in good condition and my little cheap ring lasted for all those years.

Well, flash forward to my last night in California when I spent some last quality time with my dear friend, Julie before moving away. I was eating dinner with her at one of my favorite restaurants, when all of a sudden, I felt a sharp jab in the side of my finger. I looked down and discovered that the larger heart-shaped rhinestone was suddenly gone! All these years with being fine and on my very last night in California, it was suddenly gone!

I felt a flutter in my heart as I realized the significance of the symbolism of what had just taken place. Months prior to that, I had felt God start to call me to come and live in Arizona. But me, being ever persistent and stubborn, I refused. I dug my heels in, shook my head and said, "Uh-uh. Not me. That is NOT home for me." Well, after a lot of praying and a lot of confirmation and verses pointing me to Arizona, I finally decided to start trusting God in what He was doing and go with the flow. I started to read about Abraham who chose to follow God to a place he did not know and to just trust God in the whole process. So that is what I decided to do: trust God.

Those that know me know all of the seemingly miraculous events that led up to my moving here. The significance of the ring was so powerful to me because it was a way of me saying:

"God, I'm giving up my dreams for Your dreams. Have Your way in me. I'm doing what You called me to do. Take me where You want me to be. Have Your way in me."

So, I am here in Arizona. I still do not know why I am here. I have been asking God why, but haven't been shown yet. But I do know that I am here because He has called me...and I want to be as obedient today as I was a year ago. So, almost 1 year from then, I say again:

"Here am I Lord. Have Your way in me."

7 comments:

  1. Wow, Alicia, what a cool story. I am glad that God called you to AZ. Our divine meeting has proven God's sovereignty to me and to so many of our students. You are an asset to our lives and to the Springs. I'm praying and trusting that as you give up your dreams, God will be faithful to see them through! <3

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  2. Thank you for such a beautiful comment, Caryn--I appreciate it so much. :*) This was so touching, thank you.

    --Alicia
    PS: I'm such a dork. I just realized that you had waaay more posts after the last one I read. I added your blog as one of my favorites, but I saved the page of the old post that I read, so I thought you hadn't updated for months! lol ; ) I'm going to fix it so that I can stay up to date with your blog like I wanted to. ; )

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  3. Found your blog through flickr and wanted to say hi! I am so glad that you have taken this leap of faith! I hope you don't mind fellow AZ follower :)
    -Ashley-

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  4. Oh my gosh, that is such a beautiful story! I can't believe it's been a year already! Your ring is still so pretty & unique with the gem gone, more symbolism there I think!
    <3

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  5. @Ashley:

    Thank you Ashley! I'm glad that you became a follower of Beba Photography. : ) I totally don't mind having a fellow AZ follower--I appreciate and encourage it! Thank you for finding me out. : )

    @April:

    Thank you April! I know! Crazy how quickly time flies, isn't it! : ) I will always keep my stoneless ring because of the symbolism behind it. I can't wait to tell the story to my grandkids when I get old and wrinkly. I can say, "There was a time in my life when...." I can picture it like the Grandma in the opening of Edward Scissorhands. ; )

    Thanks both of you for reading my blog--I appreciate it so much! : )! More to come soon!

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  6. You are such an inspirational woman! I am lucky to have met you!

    ~Brooke

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  7. I feel quite the same way about you, Brooke!!! You have been such a blessing in the time that I've gotten to know you on Facebook--my gosh, we have so much in common! Can't wait to meet you and LB! : )!

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