So here I am, taking on another challenge The Lord put before me. Go on the world race, be a team treasurer, be a team leader… Squad lead 45 fully functioning adults around the world for the next 7 months?
Ok, challenge accepted. Here's to a new season!
To say this year isn't turning out like I expected is an understatement. But to say it isn't better than I hoped would be a lie.
For those of you that don't know world race lingo, and so the term "squad leader" means nothing to you, let me fill you in. A squad leader functions apart from teams, no longer with the same 6-8 people pouring into a ministry as a first priority, but actually seeing the squad (45 people) as a whole ministry. We travel individually to each team, spend one on one time with people, mentor, encourage, pour into teams and challenge people to continue seeking the Lord's heart for each month. It changes the way the race looks for me and my two new squad leaders (Allison & Carolyn). We are responsible for shaping an environment that pushes people more towards Jesus, and are there to help logistically mobilize 45 people around the world. This role is quite a change from what I originally imagined myself signing up for…
God knows what He's doing all the time. And he leads us from one great thing to the next- we just have to be willing to say yes, a huge commitment I'm learning to accept.
Right now I'd love to share some emotions with you. I'm overwhelmed. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I feel under prepared and yet as if I've been fully prepared for this moment for a while. I feel confident, and I feel anxious. I even feel a little fear- but it's not stopping me now. Because I KNOW this is what The Lord has for me right now. All things can change, all things can rearrange and my life will be a constant changing ebb and flow of moments that push me into greatness and challenge me to grow.
But I have a choice.
If I had chosen to say no at any point along the way, The Lord would have respected my decision. I didn't have to be a treasurer. I didn't have to be a team leader. I might not have even gone on the world race if I was in the habit of saying no. But I would never have known what squad leading looks like if I didn't choose to say yes. I can't do any of this by myself, but I am becoming more of who He has made me to be because I am willing to say yes to the sometimes little and sometimes insurmountable things!
This is what saying yes looks like today. It is a big change, and it might be difficult, but it's nothing that The Lord cannot get me through. The funny thing is, looking back it all makes sense. I can see where The Lord was preparing me and moving me forward into the plans He had always had in place for me.
Thank you Lord that my boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places. and i have a delightful inheritance. surely, you will not withhold your goodness from me, if only i choose to always say yes. (Psalm 16)
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WE MADE IT TO JAPAN! Carolyn, Allison and I have been raised up as the new squad leaders in training. We are living at Zach's new house in Japan (where he's starting a discipleship ministry at the end of this month) and Hailey will return in a few months to start a women's discipleship home as well. We are training for the month, getting poured into and challenged by Zach and Hailey, and seeking the Lord's heart for our squad! This is going to be a really sweet and challenging month for us- be in prayer for us! We're learning a lot, and praying a lot, and trying to keep warm in this chilly Japanese weather. More updates to come!
