Hi friends! Today I am proud to give you a very special treat! My sweet sissy, Sarah (16yrs old) has written a guest post for my blog! I’m sure a lot of you have been wondering how my family is doing, and future racers- here’s a glimpse into the lives of people you will leave behind as you begin your journey around the world.
So, here’s her post. She brings so many adorable musings, vulnerable thoughts, and insight beyond her years. She’s incredible and I am so honored to share her essay with you here. Enjoy! (And leave her some comment love at the end!)
Hi, I’m Sarah, and I do not possess even half the writing skills my sister has, so bare with me. It’s crazy to me how true clichés can be: “you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone”, “sisters are your built in best friend”. You really don’t realize how much you depend on someone, and how vital they are in your life until they aren’t there every day.
My sister has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Now, of course we don’t have a perfect relationship, we’ve fought and had rough patches (when I was 13 I was a nightmare), but I’d say our relationship is just about as close as you can get. I’m talking a Lorelai and Rory kinda bond y’all! Anytime I’ve had a problem; from a friend suddenly being a jerk, to boys being stupid and confusing, to school being stressful, Ashley’s always been my go to. She always knows the right answer, even when the right answer isn’t an answer at all, but simply being a listening ear.
Now I know I probably sound dramatic. You might even be rolling your eyes, thinking, “she didn’t die, she’s only gone for a year…you’ll be fine!”. But if y’all have been keeping up with her blogs then you know we’ve had quite the year. Never a dull moment at the Guinn house, has become our motto because we just can’t seem to have a quiet, calm moment. We’ve gone from one trial to another, and when I had my sister here to help me, and show me where God was in every situation it really didn’t seem all that bad. But when I’m facing what feels like Mount Everest sized things on my own, it hasn’t been so easy to keep my eyes focused on God rather than the circumstance.
When Ashley first left, a lot of things changed for me; my job at my beloved camp came to an end with the close of summer, I lost some amazing friends along with camp as they moved away, and my youth group moved to a night I couldn’t go so I lost my church friends. I’ve had a hard time staying positive, and looking forward to all the new things starting; dance team and all my new friends and sisters on the team, school and new fun opportunities. I’ve had a negative mind set about everything, and I fell into a sort of funk. I just felt sad or felt nothing all the time, I missed my sister and my camp and church friends, and I was missing all the incredible things God was doing in my life every single day.
But I got sick of feeling like that, and I realized the only way I could change it was to get a new perspective and to change my attitude. So, as I sat in church on Sunday, unable to focus on the sermon, I thought about how in the world I was going to write this blog post. I started feeling unworthy and unable to write it, like there was no way I could compare to what my sister had been writing, and suddenly my pastor’s voice broke through my unfocused thoughts. He was talking about how he wished he could go back to his late 20’s and early 30’s, not to redo it, but simply to enjoy the time, and the simple blessings he was given. That really stuck with me as I realized that God was speaking through him directly to my heart, and handing me the way out of my funk on a silver platter. He was telling me to look beyond my circumstances and to focus solely on His face, and to look for and enjoy the simple blessings he gives me each and every day.
So, the past few days I have been working on shifting my focus from only seeing my circumstances and feeling sad to looking beyond that to God’s glorious face, and enjoying every simple, small blessing. I obviously still have a long way to go before I’m truly focusing on God as I should be, but I’m enjoying the small blessings in each day. Whether it’s rocky road ice cream, my sweet best friend, no homework, new leggings, hugs and cuddles from my darling little sister, or even a 15-minute face time with my radiant big sister, I rejoice in the small things and I thank God for it all.
This has been an incredible journey that I’ve gotten to accompany my sister on. She and her team have been doing amazing, world changing things every day. I’ve really cherished each sweet story and picture my sister has shared with me; the baby who captured her heart in India, Rico her tummy visitor from Nepal, beautifying a store in Thailand, and swimming in a green swimming pool in Cambodia. She’s had so many fun (and icky) adventures already, and as much as I selfishly want to have her all to myself, safe at home in America, I am so thankful for the opportunities she’s had so far and the love and light she’s already been able to share.
My sister is my best friend, and my rock, she keeps me grounded, and pointed to Jesus. I sure hope her team(s) take care of her and bring her back to me safe after this extraordinary part of her journey is over. Spread that light all over the map, Sissy!!
Isn’t she the cutest? So future racers- fear not! Your family and friends will be just fine! They will learn how to fill the gap that you left with the Lord and they will rely on him more than ever. They might even encounter God for the very first time. God is faithful in the waiting and he will honor your obedience. This is your race, BUT he uses the time to work in the lives of your people too!
One last thing-MY PARENTS ARE COMING TO PARENT VISION TRIP IN FEBRUARY IN RWANDA! Their trip will cost about $1,500 before airfare. If you feel led to contribute to the cost of their trip, reach out and let me know. I know they would be so blessed by anything you’d like to contribute.
Love you and so thankful for you all!
