Three years ago, Summer of 2009, I stumbled across “life and life abundantly.” Actually, these days, I am convinced that I didn’t actually ‘stumble’ across it, but that the entire thing had been orchestrated and set into motion by God himself. That my entire life had been leading up to that point. And He had not only been guiding me towards it, but also preparing and equipping me for it along the way.
For years, God had been growing in me this heart for broken people, specifically for men and women in prison and those who struggle with substance abuse and addiction. The ones that the world has a habit of readily condemning. The “irredeemable.” The “unforgivable.” The “un-restorable.” God had given me a heart for them. And He grew it. And it was coupled with an unwavering, unshakable faith that He was capable of restoring their lives. That NO one is beyond redemption. (I still believe that, by the way).
So, when I was looking into Summer Projects with Cru, the Christian organization I was apart of in college, and saw that they actually had one that focused on prison ministry, I jumped at the opportunity. Actually, upon discovering it, I completely freaked out at the possibility that my dreams in life could actually be a reality, slammed my laptop closed, buried my head in my pillow and tried to forget I had ever saw it. But a couple days later, I found myself applying, and when June rolled around, I was off to Seattle, never to be the same again.
I. can. not. even. begin. to tell you how much God has used that summer and the people from that project to heal so many different things in my life. And not just for the month that I was there, but for the past three years, God has continued to use the friendships that came out of that project to bring healing to various areas of my life.
I began to live that summer. And I mean, really really live. And on a hot August day, in a white Scion, headed down I-75S towards Gainesville, Florida, in the car with – and on the way to see – people that I honestly thought I would never see again, I finally knew what it meant to have life and life abundantly (John 10:10). I mean, I knew that it was possible because I had witnessed the manifestations of it in the lives of other people, but up until that point, I had never really believed that it could happen for me. That I could experience this kind of life too.
So, imagine my dismay a week ago when, laying on a couch in DC in a room with some of my closest friends from that summer, I was overcome with the sense that this three year season of my life is finally coming to an end. And a new one is about to begin. To say that I was saddened by the thought would be a gross understatement. Because I. LOVE. these people more than I could ever put down on paper. And I always, ALWAYS want them to be a part of my life.
And no, I don’t think that God is closing the door on the friendships that have come out of that summer. I’m sure they will still continue and be there when I get back. I just think that God is finally closing the Seattle chapter in my life. The chapter that I tend to deem a catalyst for everything else. The chapter that has given birth to so much healing. Which…..is scary. Because I am still really broken in a lot of areas hahaha.
But this is what I know. Or rather, this is what God has assured me of: That in every season of my life, He will be there, walking beside me. That “the work He has begun in me will be carried out unto completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). That “wherever the Spirit of God is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).” So, as I prepare to enter this new season of my life where I embark on this 11 month journey to discover more of who God is, I go in EXCITED, knowing that a new level of freedom in Christ is waiting for me as soon as I step off of that bus in Toccoa Falls, GA for Training Camp.
WHICH IS IN 10 FLIPPING DAYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
