**THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far! I have been feeling seriously loved and encouraged through this process and my heart is so full with gratitude.
You don’t have to know me very well to know that I love the Lord of the Rings movies.
They’re the perfect formula for my favorite kind of movie: friendship, bravery, adventure, swordplay, beautiful music and big, sweeping landscapes are just a few things I love about them (also Aragorn isn’t too bad to look at, am I right?). I’ve loved these films since I was in the first grade.
But I think one of the biggest things I love about this story is not a thing at all, but a character: Frodo Baggins. I’ll preface this with the fact that Frodo and I are both INFPs, and I identify with him a great deal. And I also hate when people make fun of him. Sorry, are you supposed to make normal faces when you’re literally carrying the biggest burden of your lifetime?? Bye.
But what I love most about Frodo is the moment he realizes he has to be the one to take the ring to Mordor. Everyone in the Council at Rivendell is fighting and it’s in that moment that he realizes what he must do.
“I will take the ring to Mordor…. though, I do not know the way.”
This is my favorite moment because it’s exactly who I want to be: unselfish, willing to sacrifice things for the right cause, brave and bold. The other fantastic thing about this moment is that Frodo has eight people who step up and say, “I’m doing this with you.” God doesn’t call us to be loners; he wants us in community with people who will point each other to Jesus. He doesn’t send us out in the wilderness alone; he puts people in your life who will be there for you and support you.
I think of this moment when I’m about to step into the unknown and all I know is that God is leading me through the thickest fog. We often don’t know where we’re going or what’s going to happen; it’s just up to us to trust that God is in control and that he goes before us. And I love that I have people who are there right alongside me.
Graduation is over, the weeks are flying by, and before I know it I’ll be heading to launch to start this crazy adventure. I’m nervous, but I know that this is where the Lord wants me next year, and so I’ll do my best to make good on a promise I made to God: I will go where you call me to go…though I do not know the way.
