Well, I’ve been home for two months and it’s been such a sweet blessing! I’ve been able to catch up with so many people and spend time with family! I’ve been able to rest, reflect, and to sit with the Lord! I’ve gotten to share stories and testimonies not only with people I know but also with strangers! Overall I’m truly just grateful to be home and to have a season of much needed rest! I’ve had many people ask me if I miss the race or if I’ve had a hard time adjusting and while I truly thought I would it’s been such a smooth transition and I’m so thankful for that. Now don’t get me wrong I do miss my friends but the Lord prepared me well for that season to end and to walk into this new one. Gods timing truly is perfect and I feel truly content with where He has me right now!
Now I hadn’t really thought about or planned on writing anymore blogs once I got home so you might be a little surprised by this one (honestly I am); but I had a friend ask me if I planned on continuing to write blogs and that got me thinking. The whole reason I was writing blogs was to share about the things the Lord was teaching and doing in and around me, sharing testimonies of His goodness. Then I realized something, just because I’m home certainly doesn’t mean that God is done teaching and refining me but rather the opposite. Gods hand is in and over every part of our lives working for our good and His glory, we walk as living testimonies to His goodness. So if God is still working, moving, teaching, and refining why wouldn’t I keep sharing that. I also realized that while I don’t necessarily love writing blogs it helps me to really process what I’m learning and create a space to remember the things God is doing. The very word testimony itself means to do it again so by sharing testimonies of His goodness it invites God to do the same thing in other’s lives. My hope is not that lots of people will read these but rather to honor and remember the things God is doing in my life. I’ve learned a lot in the Old Testament about how important it is to remember the things God has done and said.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about what life looks like now that I’m back and what it looked like before I left. What things are truly important, what God is asking me to invest my time in and what things He’s asking me to leave behind. Before I left for the race I felt like I was looking into the complete unknown and walking into uncharted waters and in a way I definitely was. The thing I didn’t realize until a couple of weeks ago was that really the entirety of our lives is uncharted waters. God has a plan and He knows what will happen, but we don’t even know what tomorrow will hold. We move little by little through the unknown while standing on the firm foundation of who God is and His character. He’s taught me a lot about the beauty and joy in the unknown and in trusting Him. So as I continue into the uncharted and unknown my hope with continuing to write is to share the things God teaches and reveals to me about everything from who He is and His character, to what community and abiding in Him looks like; to share the ways that He’s moving here and now in His people. I’m not sure how often I’ll post (I guess as often as God gives me something to share) and I’m not promising that everything here will crazy good or extremely interesting, but it will be genuine and authentic!
Now I don’t know what all that will look like but I’m sitting with an expectant heart and with eyes focused on the Lord as I continue into His plan. Our culture is really big on having a set plan and knowing exactly what’s next but God has been showing me so much beauty in the slowness and the waiting. There’s no pressure or hurry in His plan simply step by step walking with Him. There’s no mistake or misstep that He can’t fix, and there is so much peace that comes from slowly and faithfully following after Him!
Hopefully this has helped to explain the heart and purpose behind this blog and behind its new name “Into Uncharted Waters”. Since I’m no longer on the world race I’ll be moving all my old posts and posting all future ones to a new site which you can find through this link: https://intounchartedwater.blogspot.com.
I wanted to end with a quote that I began my first blog with, it’s from one of my favorite songs Captain by Benjamin William Hastings “Through waters uncharted my soul will embark. I’ll follow your voice straight into the dark” These words are just as true today as they were nine months ago. Though the future remains unknown I will still follow His voice through it. Straight into the dark and into the uncharted ahead! Thank you for taking the time to read this and for following along with where the Lord has taken me! I pray the Lord blesses you!
Emilee Castro
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