This week brought about my first encounter with a hurricane since moving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana a little over a year ago (Hurricane Isaac, for those who hadn't heard about it). And not surprisingly, God found a way to relate what He was doing in my life to a hurricane:
Raising $15,500.00 can easily become an overwhelming task, and the enemy can tell us endlessly that we'll never meet that goal. The enemy will try to tell us lie after lie, asking us, "Do you really think that person would donate to you?" OR "Don't send them a letter, you haven't even talked to them in years!" and how about the procrastination sneak attack method, where he distracts us juuuust enough to put everything off day by day until TIME becomes our biggest threat. It'd be so easy to give up, to resort to worry and chaos like the storm of the earth wants us to. But God has a different plan for us. He has plans to keep us in the eye of the storm. In the midst of the utter chaos that is the world, He surrounds us with His perfect peace. When the world wants to throw us around like a hay stack in a hurricane, God says, "I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)
The eye of the hurricane is the quiet, calm center of the storm in which the winds of a hurricane rotate about, and God desires for our lives to mimic that! While there's a storm going on outside all around us, we can have peace on the inside beacuse even though we have no control over the weather, we can choose to lean on the ONE who controls the climate of our souls (Thanks Pastor Mike Haman for that one!).
So, while the rest of Baton Rouge swarmed around in dramatic chaos in preparation for the coming storm, I rested in the perfect peace and gracious favor of my God. I've felt since day one of praying to go on this mission that God would not call me to it if He wasn't going to bring me through it, and that meant trusting He would provide not only the opportunity to go, but the financial support to go as well. I mean, why not? He told me in Jeremiah 32:27, "I am the LORD, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?" It's all His money anyways right? He's just called us to be good stewards of it for Him while we're here.
Now, I think it's easy to see where the perfect peace of God took over my life this week, but what about His gracious favor I mentioned above? God did an incredible thing this week through an incredibly generous and humbling act of kindness by my dear friend and beloved sister Mo Isom. (For those of you who don't know Mo or her story, you should go check it out…like now…or at least right after you finish reading this post 🙂 ..for real though, check out her story at http://moisom.com/) Sadly (for me), Mo will be moving from Baton Rouge back home to Atlanta, GA this week and with that decsion came her decision to BOLDLY live out Luke 12:33 and literally sell all of her belongings to be able to give to those in need. (This is where the favor of God part comes in so get excited): Mo decided that my WR trip was the place in need that God was calling her to give to and through Mo and her INCREDIBLE family, friends, and followers we were able to raise over $5,000 during the "Luke 12:33 Facebook Auction"!!!!
I am so SO humbled by the gracious giving that took place this past week and I can not say thank you enough to all of you who have taken an interest in my story, my trip, and God's hand on my life. Thank you for the PRAYERS. Thank you for the SUPPORT. Thank you for your BLESSINGS. Your support will be used to do God's work and to spread hope and joy alllll around the world next year! Thank you for teaming up with me to be a part of this great adventure and I hope you will continue to follow this story as it unfolds in magnificent ways. I LOVE YOU ALL.
One Love,
Kate
