Dear Month 11 Elisabeth,
The Race is coming to an end, so take a deep breath and stay calm. You don’t need to have everything figured out yet. God is still in control. Trust in him.
And… don’t forget.
Don’t forget what He has taught you. Don’t forget the wounds He has healed; both physically and emotionally. Don’t forget the truths He has spoken into you. Don’t forget how He has transformed and changed your heart, your desires and your life.
Don’t forget the faces you have seen and the stories you have heard. Don’t forget the smiles and tears on the children you have encountered. Don’t forget the pain they have experienced. Don’t forget the friendships you have made and the testimonies you heard that showed you how God redeems and restores in breathtaking ways.
Don’t forget the how you have been humbled. Don’t forget the honest feedback you have received. Don’t forget the times you were blessed enough to cook for the street children in Cambodia or clean the noses of the orphans in Swaziland. Don’t forget the bugs you saw, the lice you got, or how dirty your feet ALWAYS were.
Don’t forget how faithful the Lord has been to you. Don’t forget how He provided $16,961 (I believe). Don’t forget all the little blessings He has given you when you needed them, like April’s homemade food in Botswana or the beach we lived next to in Vietnam.
Don’t forget the moments that were hard.
Don’t forget scrubbing your laundry for hours to attept to get the stains out of your white tank, because you will never forget to be thankful for a washer and dryer again.
Don’t forget freezing cold bucket showers because you will be forever grateful for hot showers and water pressure.
Don’t forget squatty potties so you don’t take a toilet for granted.
Don’t forget how much you missed your family and friends so you don’t live a foolish moment without the realization of how blessed you are to have them – including the ones you met this year.
Don’t forget that God created you. He thinks you are beautiful and knows every hair on your head.
Don’t forget the shame and secrecy He freed you from. Don’t forget that you don’t have to hide.
Don’t forget that comparison is useless because God created you with special gifts and talents to fulfill the role He set apart for you.
Don’t forget that you are not created to find your worth in the affirmation of others, but only Him.
Don’t forget that you were created to glorify Him and not yourself.
Don’t forget how God has so clearly gone before you to every inch of the earth you have been to.
I’m excited to see how God continues to work in you and change you heart in South America. I’m sure you’ll be a little more like Jesus than I am and a little spicier too – and that makes my heart glad.
Love,
Your month 8 self
P.S. You are the bomb.
