Matthew 6:8 – "Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
Admittedly, I haven't been particularly focused on the World Race and everything I need to do to get ready for this journey over the past couple of weeks. Graduation wasn't too long ago and now it's crunch time in preparing to head out to Germany this summer. So my mind is flying in a hundred different directions right now with just as many trains of thought. Well, for a moment tonight, all of that extra thinking and the giant "to do" list came to a halt and God just brought me back to that right frame of mind in a humbling sort of manner only He can do.
It's undeniable that He's really been at work lately in life both innerly and outwardly. I cannot do anything but praise Him for it either. Up until 2 weeks ago, my plan after graduation and after this summer in Germany was to head back to Ohio and more or less figure things out on the fly while I was there. Maybe finding a job for at the most 4 months if I was really lucky. Though to be honest, the chances of anyone wanting to hire someone who would only be around until the end of December was pretty slim to none. Despite the unlikelyhood of getting that job, I was ready to just trust that God would work something out once it rolled around. What I didn't expect was for Him to tell me that I'd be hanging out in Iowa for a bit longer than expected. About two weeks ago, Camp Adventure, who I've worked with part time for the past 2 years as a graduate assistant, offered me a full time position working with them up until I leave on the World Race. On top of that, they've already okay'd the necessary time off I'll need for training in Georgia! How amazing is this? I wasn't going to worry about a job until coming home in August, and instead this opportunity comes up before the summer even begins!
Fastfoward to today. With a lot of training going on for directors and project coordinators over the last several days, again all of my focus has just been on this summer and nothing really beyond it. Not good when there is a lot of fundraising to be done right? While I've been doing some work within that realm, it's a little slow going, especially lately. But once again, God just showed up in a huge way that I didn't expect, acting on my behalf before I ever had the chance to open my mouth to ask. And it's humbling. It truly is.
I was speaking with my mother on the phone tonight. And she was telling me about the church service back home in Ohio from this past weekend. Someone from the Outreach Committee was giving some announcements on various projects they were working on, and assisting me in raising funds for the World Race was one of them! Understand that I haven't been back home since January 2nd. I haven't truly had a chance to meet with anyone at my church back home to talk with them about the opportunity to partner with and support me on this trip, and once again God is two steps waaaay ahead of me. And what they've come up with to help me raise this money just truly astounds me. They will be calculating and mapping out the mileage which will be traveled over the duration of the 11 months and they are asking everyone to sponser me for EVERY mile that will be traveled. I don't know all of the details yet because this is coming from word of mouth, but it was another one of those eye opening moments in which God just blows me away by his Grace and in keeping His promises to us. Needless to say, I was a little speechless when my mother told this to me and even brought a few tears to my eyes just realizing His love for me and that He's had my back with regards to this trip from the moment I decided to apply and will just continue to open my eyes more and more to who He is and what He has planned for me in my life.
