greater things.
people, places, and plans beyond my imagination. surrender, strength, and hope found in Him alone. willingness, obedience, and trust that stretch beyond my own abilities. these are the things of being called to greater- a greater purpose, a greater reason, a greater joy, and a greater hope. it is a call to live a life set apart- to take risks for the God who took the greatest risk for us and to love others so fiercely they wonder why. and this calling? this calling to greater is for everyone. it just so happens that in this season of my life, this calling has led me to the World Race Gap Year and it is a calling i would have NEVER dreamed would be mine.
let me just say that God works in the craziest ways. going on a mission trip, let alone a nine month one, was never a desire of my heart and it never even crossed my mind- until one day, it did. it came as a simple whisper one random afternoon my sophomore year while doing homework. a thought crossed my mind and it simply was “shekinah, what if you become a missionary” LOL. i dismissed the idea and didn’t think anything about it until later that same day when my mom literally walked up to me and said “shekinah, i can see you being a missionary” ummm what? y’all have to understand, my mom is asian. meaning getting straight As, going to a top-tier school, and becoming a doctor was her ideal picture for my life and was what i strived to live up to. so it really threw me for a loop when she out of the blue suggested a lifestyle way off script from her own desire and my own plan for my future; especially when i had a similar thought just a bit earlier. i was shook. but despite the undeniable divine timing of that situation, i pushed the whole concept out of my mind. in a way, i didn’t want to admit to myself that God was calling me to the mission field because obeying that call meant sacrificing all i had ever worked for, dreamed of, and prided myself on. long story short, over the next year things kept happening that kept the whole missionary idea in the front of my mind. things people would say or things i would read in the bible and even random situations that i witnessed, all pointed back to that whisper i heard as a sophomore. a sophomore who was fully devoted to the lies that worth and potential stemmed from achievements and academics, oblivious to the life-changing truth that as His daughter God had greater things already planned for her life. being a missionary was so contrary to all of the hours, work, stress, tears, and late nights that went into my pursuit of the expectations laid out by myself and by society that i couldn’t bring myself to believe such a life could be mine. but to God be the glory because He has such a crazy way of changing our desires as we delight ourselves in Him. after months of love notes (think of them as God-incidences), I found myself in a place where it was so undeniably obvious God wanted me to do something with missions that it would be disobedience not to. so here i am, years later after that first whisper, stepping out in faith, completely trusting that He who holds my life in complete perfection and untainted love leads the way- always holding the door open to greater things.
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thank you to everyone who has supported and prayed for me in making this decision to pursue God’s greater “thing” for me in this season, i can’t even tell you how much i genuinely appreciate all of the encouragement. i am so pumped to see all God will do in and through me in the coming months. i can’t wait to encounter Him in new ways as i love on my fellow brothers and sisters in ecuador, peru, guatemala, and cambodia. however, i know that i will face a myriad of different things on this journey so i ask that y’all would support me through prayer which is so much more powerful than we often characterize it to be! there is also an opportunity to donate towards my financial needs if you are able and would like to help me in that way- just click the orange donate button at the top of my page. if you have any questions or comments, please contact me! i would love to share what God has been doing in my life or answer any questions!
xo,
shek
