Since we have arrived in Santiago, Spain it has been a roller coaster of emotions. A sigh of relief for finishing the Camino, frustration at the amount of new clothes we had to charge to our credit cards, joy for seeing the rest of our squad, and deep sadness as we begin saying good-byes.
Last night we had our final dinner together as a squad, and we did an activity that deeply impacted me. What we did was have about 6 or 7 people walk around the room and touch the people that applied to the questions asked. For example, if TT asked who on the squad was a true servant, the people in the middle would touch the people in the circle they felt that applied to while those in the circle had their eyes closed. Everyone had a chance to be in the middle and to be in the circle.
I have done activities like this at camps and such, but I noticed something different about it this time. First of all, I noticed that on the questions that I did not feel applied to me, I would still get tapped. I also noticed that everyone tapped differently. Some poked, others squeezed shoulders. Some put their hand on my head, on my back, or on my arm. Some even gave embraces from behind. I thought about this a lot as we did this activity. Sometimes we dont know how we have touched someone, but nonetheless, our presence and our actions still had impact even when we least expected it. And the way we impacted people was reflected in how they touched us and showed us appreciation for that. For some people we touched them deeply though longlasting friendships. For others they were simply impacted by the example we set. But the sphere of influence we have is vast and diverse. Some people see things in us we dont even see in ourselves, and some people constantly affirm gifts we know we are growing in.
Something else interesting was not knowing who was touching us. We knew the groups of 6 or 7 that would go around, but we never knew exactly who was touching us. At first, I really wanted to know who was touching me so I could ask how I impacted them, but then I thought, why does that matter? Of course it would be cool to hear a testimony of how our presence made someone feel a little less alone, but then I thought, this is representing how God wants to affirm us. God is constantly singing praises over us, and we only really hear it when we actively tune in, and to me, this activity was like God touching me, and encouraging me and telling me that I had a place on this squad, I had influence and the ways I have grown and changed were seen not only by those around my, but by God Himself, and He is so proud.
This year has been absolutely incredible. I have seen just how big God is this year, and how He has the power to change to many lives, and I am so grateful that I had the honor of being a part of how God was moving around the world this year. But the same power that moves people across the nations is moving in me, and God has RADICALLY transformed me this year, and I am claiming that victory in Jesus so when I go home, I can boldly proclaim the truth that I am His daughter and He loves me, and He loves all of His children so much, and He will go to great lengths to show that. We are truly seen and known by God, and He wants everyone to know how much He loves them, and everyday we have to opportunity to be vessels of Gods love, and to show people His perfect and unconditional love through the way we live our lives. And what an honor that is for all of us.
