Attacked

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." -Ephesians 6:12-13

Lately, it has been so hard for me to keep my focus on this trip and on the Lord in general. My life is so incredibly hectic right now! This semester has been full of constant work, projects, and meetings; it is unbelievable how much time grad school takes. With that said, I also have other things going on to take up even more time.... scholarships, finding an internship, figuring out my class schedule for the summer and fall, realizing that I'm technically done with classes after one more semester (SERIOUSLY?!), organizing things for this summer while I'm gone, and fundraising for this trip i.e. baking and selling cupcakes. These past few months have been a whirlwind and it's hard to believe that I only have 2 more weeks left of school!

Even though my life is crazy and at full capacity, I'm ashamed to look at that list and not see time with God anywhere. How can I go about my life and not give Him the quality time He so deserves? I'm trying to live my life for Him and yet all this clutter of activity seems to be interfering with that. Do I think this is a coincidence? No. How ironic is it that my life became SO crazy and busy after my decision to go on a mission trip this summer? Very. Satan is deliberately trying to ambush me. I know this because the closer this trip is getting, the more I struggle in my relationship with the Lord and my preparation for this trip. Even writing this blog has been challenging for me! I can't have it any more and now that I've realized what's going on, I have to fight back. I will not fall for his tricks because I can not; my trip to Malawi is so much bigger than myself and in order to accomplish what the Lord wants from me, I have to focus and be prepared. This summer is not about going to Africa or helping orphans, in fact it's not about me at all. It's about being a servant and learning to give unconditionally in the name of Jesus. I'm ready to be used in whatever way God has planned for me.

So please pray. Ask that the Lord will keep Satan away and guard me from his attacks. And pray this for my teammates because if I am feeling attacked, surely they are as well.