I absolutely love having my cartilage pierced. Prior to this trip, I took out my cartilage hoop and forgot to bring it along with me. As the days and weeks passed, I eventually forgot about it. So, I was completely and utterly devastated when I remembered about it yesterday and found that it had partially closed up. How could I do such a thing! I panicked and grabbed an earring that I had brought along and did what was necessary in order to save my piercing. I poked and twisted it gently at first, and then with more aggression as it would not give in. Pain was almost unbearable at this point but I knew I had to keep trying. I didn’t want my cartilage to close up! Finally, with a quick pop it broke through.
A reoccurring theme that has been taking place all week for me is God’s unconditional love. More specifically, His love for me. I stumbled upon a verse in Hosea this week. It’s found in Hosea 2:6-7, 14. It says, “Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her”. In reading this, I realized that I had watered down Christ’s love and had simply forgotten what it was like to sit quietly and soak up His presence. So being the relentless and pursuing God that He is, He took matters into His own hands, led me into the desert, and began speaking tenderly towards me. In simply being with Him, I have once again discovered the beauty of basking in His presence.
Yesterday, as I re-pierced my cartilage, I was baffled by how easily it was to let something slowly close up without being aware of it. It simply happened over time because I lacked caring for it. God saw something He wanted to save, much like I did with my earring. He realized what was happening and did not want our love to become a distant and hazy thing of the past. He wanted to continue to pursue me, for His love is so deep we could drown in it and never get enough. He had to block my way and lead me into the desert to speak tenderly to me. Although it was a painful process in leaving and voyaging somewhere completely foreign to me, it was worth it.
I was pierced by God’s love when I finally understood that He would care so much to speak such a simple lesson to me. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Christ being pierced onto the cross through all of that. Jesus chose to go to such lengths for me; to show me He loved me. I know that before I can fully impact people here in Nicaragua, or when I return to the states, I must first grasp the firm understanding that God loves me. I have to feel His love so that I can love people the way He so intended me to.
If God’s mission was to show me His love for me and deepen my love for Him and His children, then I’d say this trip is worth it. If we don’t have love, we have nothing. We are meant to be the light of the world. How can I be the light without first being reminded by God’s love?
