Thoughts on Thank yous, Goodbyes and Prayer
I have spent the last two weeks at home saying these three things Thank you, good bye, and please pray. I got back from saying goodbye to the 2012 staff of Clydehurst Christian Ranch, a staff that I truly fell in love with, to start right into fundraising and trying to hang out with all my friends and family in Bozeman before I leave for Denver to work at the Denver Rescue Mission. I have been very busy, something I really don’t mind all that much. Overwhelmingly blessed are my feelings.
Thank yous: I wish there was a stronger way to say thanks or that saying thank you from the very bottom of my heart did not sound so cheesy. I feel abundantly blessed. I want my supporters to know how much gratitude I feel for the gifts that they have sent my way. I am the kid that gets to follow the call that God has placed on my heart, the kid that gets to live out her dreams because of you. There are no words that say thank you, but I will put it into action and go for the sake serving the lost and telling them about Jesus. God is so good and that has been so evidently reviled to me though the generosity of my friends these two weeks that I have been at home. So with all of my heart THANK YOU.
Goodbyes: I was thinking the other day about the hardships that come with being such a live in the moment person; I think the hardest parts are the goodbyes. I spent the last three years in Bozeman trying to live here and be with the people that I was with. I tried to make it a point to really love my friends and family that are here and also let them be a part of my life. I really love it here it is home, but I have to say good bye for awhile. I went to camp with the same intent to love my crew girls with all of my heart, and I saw pieces of my heart drive away as we all left the canyon. I showed up at camp knowing few people and all we ended up a family. So now I’m headed to Denver for an Internship, a place full of people that I will have to say goodbye to at some point. Meeting new people always means you leave some goodbyes behind. Then there will be my new world race family and the people that we will meet along the way, people I don’t know yet but am sure I will not be able to help give pieces of my heart away. So to goodbyes I guess they are good, they are good because we got to know each other for awhile, they are good because new things are ahead, they are good because they mean you now hold a piece of my heart, they are good because we got the chance to learn from each other’s lives, they are good because Jesus has a plan that we would be a part of each other’s lives a least of a season.
Prayer: I think prayer is an act of obedience. We were studying the Old Testament this summer for group devo’s and it seems like God asked the Israelites to do some really random things just to show that He was in control. For example God says to Joshua, I want you to walk around this town for six days without talking. On the seventh day I want you to yell. Then the walls fell over. What a random way to destroy their enemy, but such an awesome way to show that God had the victory in His hands. In the same way I have always thought it was strange that we a supposed to pray when God already knows what is going to happen. But I am starting to learn it is an act of obedience, a chance for us to say “God you are in control” and a chance for God to say ”Look at how big I am”. With that said I have been praying a lot lately. I have been praying that Jesus would blow me out of the water in this fundraising deal. That it would be evident that Jesus was in control and not me. Let’s be real the task of getting the funds together for a 15,500 mission trip is going to take a miracle. I have been praying for Denver that I will be able to be effective in the work that I do there and He will provide me with a friend/adventure buddy. I am praying for all that goes into getting ready and eventually being on the World Race. I am praying for my friends and family at home and how much I am going to truly miss them. I am also thanking God for the great blessing of having family and friends that have been praying for me long before I even thought about going on the journey called The World Race. To leave a place, to follow the calling that God had placed on your heart and to have people send you off in prayer is a great blessing. And let me tell you I love me a good blessing.
So those are my thoughts as I head out to the great unknown. Mostly as I set off past Bozeman and past Clydehurst Christian Ranch to Denver, Colorado.
