It’s been a while since I’ve updated, so I wanted to let you all know what has been going on in this whole process. Every time I try to sit down and write out everything, I become so overwhelmed. I want to include everything, but there is far too much to say. What do you do when you have so much to say but it’s all so jumbled that it doesn’t really make sense all together? I’ve decided to stop trying to make sense of it all and just tell you about the moments individually. Each of these moments mean so much to me that they could be their own post, and maybe one day they will be. They are moments that I’ve truly felt the presence of God working in my life. For now, though, here’s a collection of memorable moments in the days since I started this journey.
Let’s start with the most recent milestone, reaching my first fundraising goal of $5,000 weeks before the due date!!! I, honestly, still am in shock. I cannot believe that people have donated so generously. The moment I realized I had reached my goal, I was at my church, surrounded by my friends and family. I got to run from room to room and let those people who are so important in my life know the good news. I was congratulated, prayed over, and hugged. It was an amazing feeling! Through only a couple of fundraisers, one of which a friend completely took on by herself, I was able to meet that first amount. I am completely humbled by the amount of love and support I have. God is continually showing me that when I trust Him, He provides. That I only have to believe in Him. He shows up and shows off when I step out of the way.
The next moment is one from a while ago. My very first fundraising event was a bible journaling night. I was able to get together with some women from my church and some of their daughters and just be creative. I shared, shortly, about why I bible journal and my process and then we were able to fellowship and create. Honestly though, the most impactful moment from this night came the next day. I received a text from a friend with a picture of her daughter’s drawing and how she had done it all on her own.
How talented is she?!?! I was floored by her. How can I doubt myself with support like that? God gives me moments like this to remind me not give up!
While I’m on this note, I may as well tell you about the daughter of another one of my friends who is collecting her spare change in a jar for me. Oh, and let’s not forget the absolutely astounding 11 year old who wants to ask people to donate to my mission trip instead of receiving birthday presents this year! God placed me in such an amazing community, but I never realized just how special it really was until now. These children have helped me far more than they will ever know by just being themselves.
And then there have been the little random gifts that people have given me, too. One friend was even willing to give me her backpack! It didn’t fit, but I still appreciate the fact that she was willing to give up something that had been a part of her life for so long! The journal a friend found and gave me because she saw it and thought of me. The new luggage tags from Dot! These little gestures made a big impact! On days when I was feeling defeated, these little encouragements helped me keep going.
God has shown me that my mission starts here. I have been blessed with so many opportunities lately to just speak to people about not only my mission trip, but also, their faith. Be it with the man fitting me for my backpack, or with the jewish shuttle driver, this trip has given me an icebreaker into some really beautiful conversations that I, otherwise, would never have had. I am very much an introvert, but God is showing me throughout this whole process that I don’t have to be. That I can be bold in my faith and it can encourage others to do the same. I can talk with the person at the phone store, or the woman at my bank about what God is doing in my life. Its freeing to not be bound by social etiquette. To be able to speak freely about the presence of God in my life and see how others respond. It’s been very enlightening.
God has placed me in moments where all I can do is listen and then lift everything up to Him. I have had many conversations constantly since the start of this whole process where friends are baring their souls and their hurts to me and I get to lift them up to the only one who can help. I like to fix things, but God has been showing me lately that I can’t fix everything. Some things only He can fix. There have been moments where I have been flat on my face praying for people in my life because that is all that I could do. Crying out for God to save them. I think He is starting to prepare my heart for some of what I may experience on the race.
There are many other moments I could tell you about, but I want to leave you with the one that has given my heart wings. By now, if you have read my other blogs, you know that I have not always been a Christian. I was an atheist until a couple of years ago. I have friends that have seen the before and after. Some of those friends are not Christians either. So imagine my surprise when I asked if they would be interested in helping me with an upcoming fundraiser and they said yes! We hadn’t even spoken about the mission trip until that night. We have barely ever even spoken about God and the change that I went through. I was floored. You see, I tend to unintentionally put God in a box. That night, God once again broke that box wide open. I should have known better. These are some of the best people that I have ever known, but I just assumed they wouldn’t want anything to do with it. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I couldn’t be happier about that. I am preparing for a silent art auction and these amazing friends are also extremely talented artists who have agreed to donate pieces to help me raise money for this mission trip! They may not agree with me in faith, but they support me regardless. That means the world to me!
There it is. A few moments that may sound like nothing to you but mean the world to me. They don’t all go together poetically, but life usually doesn’t happen that way. They are individually beautiful and encouraging. They are what has kept me going and where I have seen God in the midst of all the craziness of life. God is with me. Everyday. In the big moments and in the little ones. I wanted to share who He is and how He has shown up for me lately. I hope you’ve caught a glimpse of Him, too!
