Over the long weekend, I went on a trip to Phoenix, Arizona with seven of my closest friends to take a little break from life in Redding. Honestly, it was the best trip I've ever had in my life, and I'm not even trying to exaggerate. The drive there and back was so exhausting, but the time we spent together was well worth the 12-14 hours of driving. Here are some photos from our trip that are kind of organised.
On Friday we played golf together - most of us for the first time - learning about our identity as sons and daughters of the living King and loving Father.
Saturday was spent at the clubhouse relaxing by the pool and hot tub during the day, then chicken pasta for dinner at night.
On Sunday, we went to Camelback and attempted to hike up the mountain slash rock. Three of us made it to the top. I was not one of those three. I was part of the five that decided to sit by a rock ten minutes into the hike and left barely an hour later to seek refuge at the clubhouse. No judgement, please ;)
On Monday morning, we cleaned up the condo and left for another long drive back to Redding, stopping at Starbucks on the way to grab some much-needed caffeine and pour out the love of Jesus that was bursting out of us.
On the last night, I sat alone in the pool thanking Him for the time we've had together, then Papa showed me something. He got me thinking about my time in the water and said:
"Seasons like this are like swimming in a pool. When you first get in, it takes a while to get settled, but you eventually get warm and it becomes comfortable. But, after a certain amount of time passes, the skin on your fingers begin to prune. That is when you know it is time to get out of the pool. Seasons don't last forever, because the world must experience the other seasons. It is almost time for this trip to end and we must run into the next season to step into who He has called us to become and what He has called us to do."
I learned a lot from this trip: the importance of keeping my love on in cultivating healthy family, the truth of our royal identity in Him, the hold perfection and control no longer has on me, and always keeping the secret place with Papa a priority. Papa gave me revelation after revelation of His love. If we are living out of an overflow of Him, we recognise that love is not about the one we don't have yet, but the ones we already have around us. During this trip, Papa showed me layer upon layer of being a daughter: receiving as one and serving as one. My love tank is full and my heart is overflowing with confidence in who I am. I am Papa's and He is mine.
ex oh,
CITRA
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