In Israel, I have found myself. But every step of the way has been a path of brokenness. Beautiful brokenness. I have figured out so much about who I am. I have been a girl, insecure about who I was. I have portrayed confidence yet wearing a mask. I have been terrified with the fact that I am graduating in December and have no idea what comes next. This idea of growth and maturity into the reality of adulthood is rather frightening. I was brokenhearted, insecure, and uncertain. I had to empty my heart to be free. Poured out and broken, I allowed for God to meet me. Here in Israel I have found myself at his feet. Like the woman washing the feet of Christ. Weeping. Tears running down. Vulnerable. Transparent. Me.

I emptied all that I was for all that he could do in my life. I feel so free. I feel liberated from my past of pain. Fulfilled and alive for the first time really ever, I want to dance. Dance in the victory of a battle won. Singing. Shouting. ALIVE! I want to scream on the hilltops of Jerusalem. Restored! Israel, this Holy Land, has been God’s way of showing me his love. The sunrise is stunning. The stars in the desert of breathtaking. The people are his chosen ones. The Temple will be rebuilt. From Galilee to En Gedi, this land reveals the purpose and promise of God. It has emptied me. He has emptied me. Entirely. I am done. I am new. ALIVE! I smile. I breathe. I dance. I sing. I shout. I am…