- Even when it’s great, fundraising doesn’t always feel great.
I really dreaded the idea of fundraising. Nothing about asking people I knew, loved, didn’t know, etc. for a dime sounded completely awful to me. The first couple times someone wanted to donate I found myself feeling guilty and saying “oh no, that’s too kind, please don’t”. What?? What am I doing? How do I do this God? After a lot of prayer and vulnerability, I came to a better understanding on how to glorify Him through tithing. Fundraising is something that has kept me up at night, and not the kind of Going-To-Disneyland-The-Next-Day no sleep, but the There’s-No-Freaking-Way-I’m-Cut-Out-For-This kind of no sleep. BUT I will say, God has absolutely changed my perspective on this subject and seeing people tithe and want to be apart of this journey, has been one of the most rewarding experiences thus far.
- How to listen
I suck at listening. I’m great at listening to other people, but I’m not always that great when it comes to listening to God. It’s something I’ve prayed about since I was a little girl. By releasing so much of the “stuff” I’ve held onto so dearly, I’m able to hear so much better. To not only sit with God, but lay with Him and watch the cloud pass by, count the stars at night—to hear the things he wants to tell me intimately, in private, without disruptions.
- How to ask God for more
A lot of my Christian life has consisted of wanting to constantly sacrifice. To be a faithful servant to the Lord. Coming to the understanding that I not only have a Father, but a best friend, has changed my perspective on asking and receiving. Sometimes, I haven’t wanted to ask God for things. In this season of life, I’ve found myself asking to be pushed and molded. I want a fire so big inside that every breath I take in is good and each exhale is God.
- The courage to ask people if they know Jesus
As a psychology major, I feel confident in asking people hard mental health questions. “Describe your depression,” “Are you having suicidal thoughts,” “Do you love yourself,” etc. But asking if they know Jesus? That’s so hard. Right? Well, no. Not at all. It’s only a couple words and it makes for a real conversation and connection through transparency and vulnerability. So yeah, do you know Jesus? I’d love to hear about it.
- Even great things require walking through hard places
I hate saying goodbye. It’s an awkward thing for me that’s emotional and I just straight up don’t like them. On the flip side, I HAVE to ALWAYS say a proper goodbye. It’s a necessary evil. A double-edged sword, if you will. The only time I’ve ever had to say goodbye to my best friend has been at airports. I hate that. It’s too much. My soul has so much love for the people I have to say goodbye to and I want to still be constant in their life. The truth is, I won’t be able to be constant in hers, or any of my loved ones lives this year. I’ll miss a lot, and they’ll miss a lot too. Walking through those uncomfortable times and talking about the hardship of saying goodbye reassures me that our hello will be even greater than our goodbye.
