I want to tell y’all about one day I had at training camp. I don’t want to forget about this day because it was the day that I broke.
Our assignment for the afternoon was to go off campus and talk to the locals about Jesus. We were given a water bottle as a way to start a conversation with someone.
The end of the day ended in tears for me. After our time on the town we got an opportunity to go Seth Barnes’ house for games and conversations. Seth Barnes is the founder of Adventures in Missions. I stepped out of the car and onto the gently sloping lawn of a beautiful Georgia plantation home. My heart stopped at the sight. The sight made me so homesick. Lining the path to the house were Lamb’s Ear and Coneflowers. I bent down to touch the Lamb’s Ear and tears filled my eyes. It is the softest plant you’ll ever encounter. After a week of discomfort and trying to protect my heart, the softness of the Lamb’s Ear melted all my walls away. I felt so empty and vulnerable and I just wanted a friend. My new friend Jo found me and was such a comfort to me. I opened up to her about all my confusion about the race and how I felt like I no longer had a purpose there at Training Camp, or even on the Race. She said, “please don’t leave. I actually really like you.” I wanted so badly to give up that day. I felt like no one understood me or cared about me, but Jesus proved me wrong. He gave me a friend to listen to my heart and tell me how loved I was. It’s not easy for me to make friends, but Jo made it easy. (Jo, if you’re reading this, I love you so much, and I thank Jesus everyday for bringing us together.).
The next morning Jesus woke me up 40 minutes before my alarm and brought me to a quiet place. He asked me to sit and to notice what I saw around me. I was a little confused, but I just started writing down literally everything I could see. Then I sat back for a bit and just took everything in. I noticed a little bird. He swooped in and pecked around the ground a while before flying away. I watched this little bird searching for something and a poem came to my mind.
I see a little bird
Searching for home
Searching for things
To make a home
Searching for food
To bring back home
And I see myself
Searching for home
Searching for people
Who feel like home
Searching for words
That sound like home.
And I see you
Calling me home
Finding your arms
Are home
Finding your voice
Is home.
My friends, Jesus does speak to us. It is so easy to forget. His voice is like a gentle whisper that blows in with the wind. His voice reminds me that I am not alone. His voice is home.
The tenderness of the Holy Spirit will never cease to amaze me.
“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”
~2 Corinthians 1:4
