So, today is December 10th and I am leaving on January 6th….the time really has flown by and I keep looking at my list of things to do and wondering if I will get everything done before I go. I go back and forth between my thoughts with whether this year will feel like a short time or a long time. I tell myself, "One year in the scope of your whole life is NOTHING, and imagine what God could do with a year that you devote COMPLETELY to Him", but then I also think at times, "A year is a LONG time….what all can happen in a year, what all will I be missing out on at home". I already found out about a niece/nephew that is going to be born in May that I will miss out on, and I know that I'm leaving friends and family behind as well, but then God reminds me that what I will get from this year will be more important than what I'm going to miss out on.
My next anxiety is PACKING!!! My sleeping bag seems SOOOO HUGE and trying to fit everything in and then making sure that there is some room left over is making me feel a little anxious. I want to be sure to have all of my contacts and medicines and things that I will need, and I also want to be sure to have the right amount of clothing and accessories. To think that these are going to be my clothing for the next year…
Then, I think about the ministry that I'm leaving behind at the prison, and I know that I have to hope and trust in God that he will have it continue to thrive and replace me with someone else who can speak Spanish.
I also have to think about other people that I care a lot about and that I help or have helped here in Omaha, and I have to give them to God as well. A lot of people don't, and won't understand me leaving, but I know that God is going to change me and use me this coming year for His glory. He will take care of all of the things here that I worry about and he will take care of me.
Even in this past week, I have had so many people just hand me money towards my trip. Even my niece has been selling bracelets to raise money for my trip and I am just reminded about how God is in control.
1 Peter 5: 6-7
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you."
Matthew 6: 26-27, 33
"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more then they? and who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?" "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
