This weekend was definitely not an easy one for me. As some of you may know, my youth minister at church accepted a new position in Ohio. I {along with some others} went up there on Friday to help them move and to get a feel for their new home. My fellow students and I have known that this was happening for a little over a month now– but honestly nothing could prepare me for the sorrow that would overwhelm my heart as we parted our separate ways.
As I stood in the chilled Ohio rain outside of a Qdoba with my family of friends {but basically just family} I was filled with so many tears and strong emotions that are difficult to describe on paper. I have so much love for these people. I am so blessed to have had my youth minister and his wife in my life for the 3 years that I did. They definitely left their mark on my life and everyone else that they ever came in contact with.
But the point of this blog isn’t to talk about how sad I am about the move. Yes I’m sad and yes it is hard {and will continue to be hard}. But I want to talk about the overwhelming peace that we get from our Savior when we surrender our lives to him. And the great example that Erik and Elizabeth have shown to me about surrendering our lives to Christ and how I can relate that to my experience in preparing for the race.
When you hear the word surrender what do you think of? Some may think of giving up in a game or giving up in the midst of war. All of these thoughts are perfectly fine, but over the past few years God has molded my view of the word surrender to mean something that is so much more. Now, I see surrender as giving my life completely to the Lord. I may not know what’s coming but I know my God and that he is faithful. I am not giving up to lose the battle {the battle was already won on the cross}; I am giving up my broken life for something so much more fulfilling that God has so perfectly placed in front of me. And that truth is so sweet.
What’s awesome about my youth minister and his wife is the fact that they said yes. They said yes to an unknown job. They said yes to a community of new people. But most importantly they said yes to our glorious all knowing God. Is is heartbreaking to see them go, but they are following the way of the Lord and I wouldn’t want to see them do anything else.
I firmly believe that where God guides he provides. Believe me though, I still have my fair share of worries about the world race. I’m worried about the fundraising, my safety while on the field, the relationships that I will be leaving behind for 9 months, the fact that I am an extremely picky eater {which I will have to get over really fast}, and countless other things. But because I said yes, I am learning to lean on the Lord. Actually not even to just lean, I am learning to jump into his arms because there is absolutely no way that I can embark on this journey on my own.
I am striving to completely surrender my life to the Lord and simply say yes when he asks me to do something. On a daily basis I encounter situations that will lead me outside of my comfort zone, but many times I find myself sitting back and waiting for someone else to do what I know God has placed in front of me to do.
Although surrender is absolutely awesome, it also involves sorrow. I have decided to surrender to Jesus and follow Him completely and I couldn’t be happier about it. But like I said I am still very nervous and emotional about it all. But I know that God is going to protect me on this trip. Just like God is going to protect my friends in Ohio, even though it breaks my heart to see them leave. And he’s going to protect you wherever you are no matter what you are going through. It’s not always going to be easy or happen the way that we thought it would, but if God calls us we would be so silly to not listen. God may need people in different places to allow more people to know his name and that’s ok. Leaving hurts but the greater good is so much more rewarding: more and more people get to know the love of our sweet king Jesus. And that, my friends, is priceless.
If you are still feeling skeptical {or if you’re like me and you just really like biblical references} we can take a look at the apostle Paul. He never stayed in one place for a very long time. He traveled proclaiming the gospel so that everyone could have the chance to hear the story of Jesus. So I shouldn’t be upset when change comes my way because I have faith that God is doing something great. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t grieve, because trust me, feeling our feelings is absolutely necessary. But we can cling to this hope that is greater than life itself and leave all of our burdens at the foot of the cross.
So I challenge you to walk with me in this act {lifestyle} of surrendering our lives to the one who oh so carefully placed all of the stars in the sky. I can’t promise that there won’t be pain or trials, but we are the church and we have a mighty king who has already won the battle. So lets start today, walking with our hands wide open to our creator doing whatever we do and having trust without borders for him and his plans for our lives and I promise that you won’t be disappointed. <3
{“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14}
