Last week was our ski week, and we joined a group of 7 other teachers to travel to Barcelona, Spain on Sunday through Wednesday. It was a great trip, full of fun times seeing a new place. Not to mention all the sunshine and warmer (60 degrees) weather, which compared to Austria, was amazing!
I am not a good sleeper, I typically do not sleep well at night for several nights in a row until my body becomes exhausted, and then I sleep well for a few nights. On the bad nights, I average 4-5 hours of sleep. When we travel, it is even worse, I hardly sleep at all.
Well in Barcelona we stayed in a hostel because it is the cheapest option. When I say we, I mean all 9 of us in ONE tiny room on cheap bunkbeds! The first few nights I got a couple hours of sleep, but our last night there, I could not get to sleep for the life of me. So I finally got out my ipod and put on some of my favorite worship songs.
So many times when I cannot sleep well, I just fight it and fight it and fight it. But that night in Barcelona, (definitely not on purpose) God got my attention. Maybe that is why I could not sleep in the first place.
As I laid there listening to those songs (and the different breathing styles of the other 8 people in the room!) I experienced God in a powerful way. God has always moved me through music and song, and this time was no different.
My spiritual food is so very limited here in Vienna, and my spirit was dry. I miss our church in Dallas where I could experience God through worship and studying his word every weekend. Needless to say, I was starving for a personal encounter with my Savior that I had not felt in quite some time.
I laid there for several hours listening to the same eight songs, basking in the presence of God. I could raise my hands in worship, I could cry at the feeling of God being so near. I could actually hear God's quiet whisper as he spoke my heart. God revealed several things to me that night, about my ministry here in Vienna and what He wants me to do. He also gave me peace about something that has been heavily weighing me down.
Wednesday morning when I got out of bed, my body was exhausted, but my spirit was overflowing.
Funny the places and times God reveals himself to us...
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