Campus Spanish teacher Rachel (Señorita) Rodriguez begins to share devotions in a blog series. Rodriguez hopes to lead readers closer to in their relationship with God and believes there is always a new way to see and understand him.
Ok so here it goes…
My name is Rachel Rodriguez, I am thirty-four years old and I was born in Fresno, CA. I am the oldest of three girls and grew up with a strict traditional Mexican-Catholic dad and with an introverted Mexican-American mom.
My parents split when I was sixteen years old. Fast forward, I am now a Spanish high school teacher who has four years of teaching full time at Fresno Christian Schools and I am currently a first year grad student at Fresno Pacific University.
I find myself in place where I know that all the good I have going on for me right now is because of my obedience to the Lord. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely have much more to grow in my walk with Him.
My relationship with Him began when I was around 11 years old. I had a babysitter who told me I can talk to God like how I would talk to a friend. So I did. I officially became a Christian in 2011.
My relationship with Him started to grow in a different direction through reading his word using the KJV Bible (King James Version) followed by a journal entry.
Now I use the TPT Bible (The Passion Translation) and instead of reading his word first, I journal. After I have written to God my thoughts, the things that have been weighing on me, and the things that I’m grateful for, then I dig into His word. Taking this approach has helped me see another side of Him.
Meaning he has become more evident to me; that he knows my every thought, and He meets my every need. I just recently finished reading the book of psalms for the second time, and during my reads I would always find him answering to my cry, my joy and my growth.
I learned that God is not intimidated by my thoughts, my actions and my words. There is nothing I can do that could keep me from Him, except for one thing, and that is pride. So the moment I recognize that I am entertaining the spirit of pride and feeding my soul with thoughts of pride, I stop and pray to Him.
I tell him I don’t want these “uglies” and I lay them at His feet, I ask Him to fill those places where pride was taking residence. I tell God that I don’t want to be a prideful person and I don’t want to do life without Him being involved. I want to make sure that I fulfill my purpose here on earth as well as experiencing Him through it all.
My seasons have looked different in regard to how I connect with Him. In some, I would read a chapter a day or faith based book. Another, I would listen to podcast teachings and sermons. One season involved just worship through music. Another season was attending school of ministry. When I would be in a season where I had less responsibilities I was able to do all the things I mentioned and in excess.
It would feel like I would be floating on clouds. But of course those seasons are rare. I’m currently learning to embrace and enjoy the seasons of wilderness. The wilderness is a place where God can do the most work, if you allow Him to take you to the deeper places of your heart. Its place where He is preparing for your next season.
I have had some awe God moments and my hope is that I somehow help my readers experience their own God moments, or have more of them and tell the world around them who and what God has done. Every God moment is specifically designed to our uniqueness. We could only resemble a similarity to others, yet be connected to and by the original creator in Christ Jesus.
“Create a new, clean heart within me
Fill me with pure thoughts and holy desires, ready to please you.
May you never reject me!
May you never take from me your Sacred Spirit!”
Psalm 51:10-11 TPT
“Lord, you must hear my prayer,
for you are faithful to your promises.
Answer my cry, O righteous God!
“Give me light for my path and teach me, for I trust in you!
Save me from all my enemies for I hide myself in you.
I just want to obey all you ask of me;
so teach me, Lord, for you are my God.
Your gracious Spirit is all I need; so lead me on good paths
that are pleasing to you, my one and only God!”
Psalm 143: 1, 8-10 TPT
For more blogs, read Functional Human blog, No. 11: The Gift You Give Yourself and also read Natalie Arndt’s new blog series BLOG: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle.