I am worth fighting for.
Five words that have been sung over me in so many ways this year I can’t keep track.
Isn’t that what we all want? To know that people are willing to fight for us? To see our dearest people standing in our corner, cheering us on?
See, it’s the end of a marathon. Your legs are jello, your heart is begging you to give it a rest, and your whole body would really like it if you went limp right. this. very. moment.
Then you look up, and though the finish line looks like it’s a million miles away, you see your friends on the sideline and it all turns into some slow motion movie- them jumping up and down as if their lives depended on you finishing this race. They have signs and noisemakers and that one guy in the back is making Indian cries and suddenly your legs don’t feel like limp noodles. They feel strong and powerful, like they could do this thing 5 times over.
Okay, maybe not five times, but you get it.
And as your strength picks up, you see more and more of your people, coaching you, encouraging you, loving you to that finish line. These are the ones who picked you up that one long run when you got lost. These are the people who yelled at you to finish strong at the end of that one practice half. These are the ones who helped you to this dream, and they’re the ones who will help you finish it.
These are your people. They make you strong. They make you brave. They are fighting for you. They are in your corner.
That’s what gets my heart beating y’all.
Community, family, friends, people fighting for people, even when they can’t fight for themselves.
When I read the last Harry Potter, tears streamed down my cheeks every time someone new showed up at the Battle of Hogwarts to fight for Harry. They loved him, and they not only wanted to stand behind him in his fight, they wanted to stand beside him, fight with him.
I love seeing people dream and I love seeing the people behind them, fueling those dreams with love and encouragement, going to battle with them through it all.
This squad I’ve been so blessed to call family for the next year, and for so many more after that, man y’all, they are willing to fight for each other.
Can I give you some examples?
The prayer of one of our squadmates over another hits my heart so good: “God, we won’t stop. We won’t stop wrestling until you bless him. We will not let go, just like Jacob, until you bless him. Rename us Israel God, we don’t want to be Jacob. Rename us into your family.”
I’m crying on my Squad Leader, Hannah’s, shoulder after some tough conversations, and she looked at me and said “Hannah, I’m fighting for you. Know that I am fighting for you.”
God knows how to make me feel the weight of His Love.
And then, a story out of a market in Nairobi, Kenya. Five girls gone missing, an hour spent searching them out, fighting against the clock for their lives, praying fervently for their safety. Rescue, not without its scars. A very real fight for the human lives God had entrusted him with. And after, the trauma may have dug itself in, but the testimony from it. Of the bravery the Lord sends coursing through us. Of how much farther the Lord is willing to go for even one of His lost lambs. Words fall short.
An afternoon spent in a plane crash scenario, a group of 8 girls fighting for each other through 40 synchronized burpees, 10 sets of crab crawls/sprints, and 100 squats. Laura Ficken by my side, pushing through the pain, getting to stand in her corner, and cheer her on. That was an honor.
When I shared a story with Stacy that I had told nobody-ever-in-the-history-of-the-world, her response was to fight for me in prayer because in that moment I couldn’t fight for myself. She said “Hannah, I am so honored you were willing to share that with me.” Willing to let me fight for you.
Team Warrior Bride. A team bent on yielding to the Holy Spirit in everything. A team that’s going to have to learn an even deeper version of fighting for each other as we live out 24/7 community this next year. And the cool thing is, in the midst of fighting for each other, we get to fight for the Lord’s kingdom and his people.
God not letting me stay where I’m at. He pushed me more than I wanted to be pushed this past week and refused to relent. He coached me and cheered me on, he showed me love through friendships and trainer conversations and empowerment from the Holy Spirit and I mean, I could go on for days. He went to battle for me relentlessly, endlessly.
Last week I realized (for the millionth time…you’d think I’d start to get things a little quicker, wouldn’t you?) the importance of letting people fight for you.
Letting people love you.
Letting people cheer you on as you run your race, and run it well.
I am worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for.
