“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love.” 2 John 1:6
Hello again, friends! If you read my first blog post from back in May, you may notice that a little bit has changed since then, but let me remind you that God and His calling remains the same. I was originally planning on leaving at the beginning of this month, September, taking an entire Gap Year with AIM to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Thailand, and Eswatini. But now, I am set to leave in January, on a semester trip for three months, to South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho.
The destination isn’t what matters most, it’s the journey. We see this in Acts chapter 8, where God sends an angel to Phillip saying, “Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (verse 26). As Phillip starts out along this road, He is told by the Spirit to “go to [a] chariot and stay near it” (29). He obeys, and by the end of his conversation, he had shared the good news with an Ethiopian eunuch and baptized him! It says in verse 39 that, “when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away” to Azotus, where he continued preaching the gospel. The past year of my life, I’ve felt a bit like Phillip, without a necessary destination given from God, but a clear direction.
It’s easy to hear a story from the Bible like this and think something like, “That’s cool, but not how God works today. We don’t typically start walking on a road, share the gospel with a eunuch on a chariot, and then baptize him. How does this apply to me?” But, it actually applies to all of us.
This summer, while working at a Christian summer camp, I got news that our race could no longer launch in September. Several of my squamates had texted us saying they felt led to something else, and ended up backing out. Some switched trips, and others rolled with the change of the tide, committing to spending the Fall at the AIM base in Gainesville, and launching in January. Pressed for time and mindful that I had committed the next 9 months solely to pursuit of the Lord, I chose the latter option, heading toward the same original destination – still on my “road to Gaza.” Over the next couple weeks, I didn’t felt at peace, and began asking God what He wanted me to do through this uncertainty. Press on toward the destination I had originally been pursuing, or trust Him in a change of course?
I realized it came down to surrender. I like having a plan, and it was almost like a nudging from the Spirit to go to the unknown and stay near it (sound familiar, anyone?). So, in obedience, I called my advisor, asked her take me off of the trip, and prepared my heart to wait in the unknown until the end of summer. The very NEXT day, I had a meeting with our camp director, and at the end of our conversation, he asked why I hadn’t applied to their internship (called the NEXT team). The thought had honestly never crossed my mind. By the end of the week, I had signed a contract for the next three months of life to be continue serving at camp, developing as a leader, and growing in my walk with the Lord.
This left me without plans for my second semester, and my mom brought up the trip I’m now on. It was all coming together. I felt at peace. I didn’t have to worry about the destination as long as I kept walking in the direction God was leading. Psalm 119:105 says, “your word is a lamp for my feet, a light to my path,” not a super-bright flashlight that we shine ahead to see exactly where we’ll end up. He wants us to be trusting Him along the journey, with our hearts and eyes fixed on Christ alone.
David Platt once said, “Somewhere along the way we have missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” I don’t know about you, but a life of comfort isn’t where I’ve been called. In giving up my will, it’s like letting go to let God steer the boat. And let me tell you, there’s no other way I’d have it. There’s so much purpose in me being where I am right now, but that’s another story for another time.
If you have any questions about the details of my trip or my heart behind it, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I would be happy to talk about it! Also, I would love for you to partner with me through prayer and/or financial support, because I surely cannot do this on my own. To donate, you can use the link at the top of my blog, where you can also subscribe for post updates! Thank you for even just being here and reading some of my story, it means so much.
All my heart,
Abby
