I’M HALFWAY FUNDED!! WHAT?!! Thank you to anyone reading this who has donated, bought a print, or prayed for me. I could not be doing this without you and my heart is singing as I get to embrace this journey alongside such generous and faithful friends! The Lord has shown me so much goodness through the generosity of my friends, family, and ministry partners, and through this process I have learned so much about the beauty and provision of the Lord when we choose to put our trust in Him and wholeheartedly depend on His goodness.
Since the moment I said yes to going on the race, I was faced with doing things I was uncomfortable with, whether asking for support, fundraising, receiving an unfortunately long list of necessary vaccinations, and having to completely depend on the Lord to provide for my funding and health, something very foreign to me. As I have entered a new state of trust in the Lord as there is so much unknown I am getting ready to encounter, I have found this state of dependence to be where I experience the Lord’s power in amazing ways. Where he has provided thousands of dollars to my funding in a few short days, where he has already provided some of the sweetest friendships I could have asked for in my squadmates, where he has continually been breaking the small box I have the tendency put Him in to show me his abundant grace, mercy, love, and resources.
Now, this is going to take a weird turn for a second, but bear with me, it will all makes sense in the end.
My friend Kassidy bought a bird and we named him Theodore.
Right after she bought him, she had his cage ready and he seemed happy for the most part. After a couple of weeks, she noticed the cage seemed a little small for him so she bought another bird cage, an upgrade if you will, as she wanted Theodore to be able to have more freedom to fly around. Since we were too scared to move him into his new cage due to his very unpredictable and sudden movements, we came up with quite the solution to put the two cages together with the doors open so that he could just fly into his new cage.
Easy right?
Wrong.
Instead of flying into his new home, fresh toys, a treat, and a new swing ready for him, Theo kept flying around his old cage, oblivious to what was waiting right next door for him. He was choosing to stay in what he knew, the cage he had always been in. Although this cage was comfortable for him, we knew something so much better was waiting for him on the other side, he just had to fly in.
It eventually took us playing chirping sounds on the other side of the cage for him to fly in, and he was finally in his new home, flapping and singing for his newfound freedom. He responded to the call on the other side.
Now, I know we aren’t birds, but how often has the Lord so clearly called us to do something, to step out, and yet we choose to hold back, staying in what’s familiar, what’s comfortable. Jesus has done so much for me, yet I still want to sit back and enjoy a life of comfort, a life that I can control.
How often do we fly about our small little cages, choosing comfort and what we know over something so clearly marked for us? We would rather stay in our small little bubbles, never experiencing the slightest discomfort, when we have been called to something so much higher so much greater, full of complete freedom. We were never promised that following Jesus would be easy, but we were promised that in Him we would have life.
And not just life, but life abundantly.
How often do you think God looks at us like we did with Theodore, saying, “if you only knew what I had in store for you. Trust me. Just run through that door.”
I felt such a strong conviction after seeing the parallels in my behavior with my creator, not wanting to trust his plan and the freedom he has called me into, and Theo’s uncertainty about his new home. God has already provided half of the funds I need to embark on this journey, yet I still wrestle and doubt, asking God if this is really where he wants me,
We have a God that is so beyond our understanding yet he still chooses to pursue us and know us intimately, and he has simply called us to depend on him, to bow down in all circumstances. He doesn’t need anything from us yet he still wants our hearts because he knows that’s where our home is. That’s where we find true freedom. He’s our father, he wants what’s best for us, and he knows that we can only experience true joy in his plan for us. We just have to run through the doors he opens and trust him with the rest.
As I have learned more about who God is through embracing unknown and sometimes scary circumstances, I have found that even though nothing about this process has been easy, running through that door that he has opened has brought me so much joy and freedom, more than I could imagine. My prayer is that you would surrender whatever it is that’s holding you back from complete dependence on the Lord, whether it’s finances, a relationship, a reputation, an addiction, and fly through the door he has opened for you. He just wants our hearts, he just wants our trust. He just wants us to live a life of worship in awe of who He is.
The home that’s waiting for us on the other side is infinitely more than we could ever imagine, and we can experience that kingdom right here. Right now. We just have to run through that door and respond to the call He’s given us.
Thanks for reading this today and for your continued prayer and support, I would not be able to do this without your support, so thank you, thank you, thank you!
Blessings,
Mallory
