Dear Month 1 Alexus,
I want to start off by saying this; soak it in!!! I know it hurts right now, the growth, the sifting, the mourning of sacrifices that you made but its all so worth it in the end, I can say that confidently now. You’re going to end this thing wishing that you weren’t, that it could last for a while longer. You’re going to walk out a women of wisdom, maturity, leadership and integrity, and you’re thinking right now that it isnt worth it! Ha! Growth in the Spirit is always worth it my dear, its going to be your first priority after this, to not be stagnant and complacent in your relationship with the Father. Let God chip away every lie, every ounce of shame & sin that resides in your heart now, after that the pain of growth will be a bittersweet feeling. Keep your eyes on the beauty that comes from the fire, you’ll think along the way that God hasn’t kept His promises to you but He’s doing so much that you can’t see yet.
Find joy and comfort in the little things that God brings your way, He’s showing His grace to you. Scream with Lion in Llano, let him hang off of you even when you feel like you’re going to fall over. Have intentional conversations with the coffee guy at Cantena in Chiang Mai, befriend him and make him feel seen. Lay in the soccer field in Myanmar every night, look at the stars and be reminded that you’re enough. That you don’t have to be perfect because the same God that created those stars calls you His bride & His inheritor. In Swaziland, man are you going to love it! You see those kids with Gods eyes, you know they’re worth it.
Know that somedays are really, really hard. You get burned out, you become physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausted in ways that you never have before. You meet children that are extremely sick without medical care, you see broken marriages and intolerance openly, and you experience spiritual warfare in ways that make you physically ill. On the days when you have to tell starving children that there is no more food, on the days when your heart aches and you have to walk away to cry in the field with the cows, on the days when you get frustrated because of the way women are treated around the world, I need you to hear this; You, Alexus Peavy, can’t change the world. You don’t have the ability to feed every hungry child, provide for every beggar, or bring redemption to broken homes…but you can love the hell out of it. Literally. You have the authority to bring love into the hate, given to you by Love himself. If Jesus Christ is Love, then Love can change everything. Never forget what small acts of love can show people. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to evangelize perfectly or to teach English like a professional. Be you, because you are already transformed & equipped to share the Gospel the way you’re meant to.
You got this sister, you’re going to fall in love with everything. More in love with God, in love with the World, and a simple life living in a posture of humility & sacrifice. So good. So sweet. So worth it.
– Month 9 Alexus
