Are you scared?
That seems to be the question I’m getting a lot these days.
With 4 months till launch and two fundraising deadlines met, this thing is really happening. Soon I’ll be leaving my comforts and walking into the unknown with a group of people I have never met.
Under these circumstances wouldn’t you be scared too?
What happens if you get sick?
Is it safe?
Are you sure you are ready for this?
To be honest, I can’t truthfully answer these questions. I don’t know what will happen if I get sick or if I will be safe all the time and I honestly don’t know if I am ready. No one knows the answers to these questions, but I refuse to live my life in fear. I refuse to let these unanswered questions keep me from living my life and living the life that the Lord has called me to.
I could get sick in the states, just like I could on my trip. My team and I are well aware of the heart wrenching events happening in places like West Africa, but unfortunately those are not isolated events. Violence and horrific crime occur in our own backyard’s daily, but staying in and changing our plans is letting that evil win. There are some mornings I am not even sure if I am ready for the day that is standing right in front of me. So no, I can’t say that I know that I am ready for everything that the next year holds. In fact I know for sure that I’m not ready.
In the end, I get asked a lot of questions about my feelings and emotions about the trip that I truly can’t answer right now, but today I have found one small question that I can confidently answer.
Next time I am asked Are you scared? I can answer truthfully.
I’m not scared. I’m not scared and I understand that many people think I’m crazy for thinking this and trust me sometimes I feel the same way. I’m not scared because I have one simple thing in my life. I have faith. I faith that Jesus will take care of me, i have faith that he will keep my squad and I safe, and I have faith that he will be with me every step of the way whether I feel ready or not.
So I leave you with these lines from the Serenity Prayer, “Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.”
Follow your heart, follow the desires that the Lord places upon you, and don’t let fear stand in your way. This isn’t an easy thing to do, but the Lord is waiting with open arms for you to run to Him. Take advantage of that, have faith, and accept the hardships that may come your way because peace is waiting for you on the other side.
In His name,
Emily
Serenity Prayer – Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
