Mission San Juan

The sun warms the ground below me as I lie on the grass and stare into the vast South Texas blue sky. Around me, the stone walls of the ancient mission stand watch, inviting everyone who enters to speak in library-hushed tones. Through each threshold, stories were given birth – stories no longer shared yet somehow still alive in this moment as history speaks through rock and wood.

In the ruins, God directs my attention. Here, surrounded by the past, I see the self-sustaining beauty of the Gospel.

Mission Concepcion

High fortress walls and watchtowers offer protection.

The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9

 

Mission Walls Shelter

Hidden in the shadow of the walls, security is offered for those who dwell within.

How precious is your unfailing love, O God. All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. Psalm 36:7

 

In the center of the mission is land for the harvest, and a granary awaits its time to serve.

I will abundantly bless her provisions; I will satisfy her poor with bread. Psalm 132:15

 

Convent Walls

Stone paths point to gathering places for caring and for community.

Share each other’s burdens and in this way obey the law of Christ. ~Galatians 6:2

 

Prayer Leaves

And lifted high in the center is the cross. Inside the cathedral, prayers are spoken and candles burn. The past reaches into the modern and ancient becomes this very moment. Though the land around it rests in the pages of history, the cross stands.

Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. ~ Psalm 95:6-7

 

In the ruins, God directs my attention to the present – His present for our present. “We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care.” He indeed is the self-sustaining beauty of the Gospel.

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About Ronne Rock

Helping you hold on to what is true and trustworthy.

We’re in this together, and I am for you. I secure road signs with a hammer of hope, and clear the debris so they can be seen.

Call me your spiritual aunty, the one who you can trust with the hard conversations. I am your encourager. I walk and keep walking. Cheer and keep cheering. I invest, dive deep, and cherish the stories being written in the lives of women like you who long to believe restoration is a reality on earth as it is in heaven. God holds the pen in those stories, and He delights in you. 

I SHARE TRUE AND TRUSTWORTHY WORDS TO HELP YOU HOLD ON TO HOPE.

You’ll love One Woman Can Change the World: Reclaiming Your God-Designed Influence and Impact Right Where You Are. It’s available wherever books are sold.

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