My name is Julie and I have been hiding from the world.
When I took the Myers-Briggs personality test for the WR it said I was an EXFJ. If you know me, then you know I am no extrovert. I’m an introvert that sometimes pretends to be an extrovert. I’m an outgoing introvert. I must have just been overly excited about the World Race and talking to different folks so I scored abnormally high on the extrovert scale.
I recharge by being alone. When the world gets to be too much- I hull up alone. I shed the extrovert disguise I sometimes wear and become a recluse. Satan likes to take my introvertedness {I don’t even think that’s a real word} and use it against me.
If you haven’t heard, I just moved back home to East Tennessee via Nashville. The time I am getting to spend with family and friends back home is an absolute gift from God. Yet, I really miss Nashville. I miss my friends, my volunteer work, my apartment, my brother and sister-in-law and my church. I miss coffee dates, bible studies, Lord of the Rings marathons, concerts, bonfires and midnight talks about God. I miss my Nashville life.
I arrived in Kingsport around the first of January and flipped the reclusive switch almost immediately. My To Do List was: find a job, grow with God, fundraise, ask Kacie lots of questions {which I still need to do}, keep trying to learn how to play the guitar, write Thank You notes, spend time with parents, reconnect with old friends, get healthy, talk to squad, etc.
But this is what I did instead: got reacquainted with cable, read a lot of books, watched a lot of documentaries, took a lot of naps and listened to a lot of records. After the big move, I was exhausted spiritually, emotionally and physically. I didn’t really even want to spend time with God. I just wanted to recharge and not deal with all the things on my mind.
Luckily, God never gives up on me. He helped me fight back against Satan and overcome my distractions. My hometown church just happened to need an intern and asked me if I was interested. Someone referred me to Threads of Hope, which allows me to sell bracelets as a fundraiser. Someone was and is always posting in the T-Squad Facebook page, so my squad was pulling me out of my funk without even knowing it. My dad surprised me with a gym membership. My mother and I started cooking healthy recipes together every night. Oh, and I found a bunch of gear on sale which took away a lot of stress.
I know I am not the only one this has happened to. I knew signing up for the Race almost ten months before the actual launch would be a challenge. But God has used these things to help me. Missing Nashville is preparing me for the things I will miss when I leave. My volunteer work and my new job at church are preparing me to work with the sweet little kids I hope to encounter. God is preparing my heart and soul to carry out His will. And if this transition had been easy- I think I would be worried.
Someone once told me that when things get bad, tough or scary it is usually because God is about to do something huge and wonderful in your life.
A huge thank you goes out to everyone who is supporting me, whether it is by a financial donation, an encouraging word or my personal favorite: a warm hug. Without all this love and support I might still be hulled up in my room with a Netflix queue of documentaries. { Which is fine in moderation 🙂 }
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7
