Accomplishing the impossible.

   I wrote the following during the first week of October, and shared in my church on Oct. 7th. I changed the phrasing a little bit to make it more blog-friendly so I could share it here but, picture me speaking it while choking back tears and muttering the word "um" every 5 seconds. 🙂  

   The first experience I had with missions (beyond sharing with my friends, youth group outreach events, and service projects) was in May of 2009 when I went on a weeklong trip to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota. I hate to admit it but after the trip I felt like I could cross “mission trip” off my life to-do list and could focus on figuring out the next steps of my life. I didn’t give much thought to missions again until this past year when I began to make this amazing connection between my life and God’s will.  I had just finished studying the books of Isaiah and James when my friend asked if I wanted to go on a short term trip to Africa with her. I instantly felt a peace about it (who does that?) and knew the Lord was asking me to go. I went to Manzini, Swaziland with Adventures in Missions from March 23-April 1, 2012. Not gonna lie, I'd never had a deep desire to specifically go to Africa but, I was kind of excited to get a passport and hopefully get some answers from God about the next steps in my life. I really didn’t expect those steps to be more international missions and it took me several months to acknowledge the call. 🙂 I was blown away by the experience of serving in Swaziland. I could share lots but, I can’t even describe how it was to spend time with children at the care points and to spend time in prayer in the local hospital. I’m pretty sure my heart broke every minute I was there and it also was filled with joy as my eyes were opening to a whole, beautiful world…
 

      The Lord was working in me and for the first time in my life the statistics and emotions of international missions and the opportunities and needs became real. When I came home I immediately started a Bible study on Nehemiah by Kelly Minter. Nehemiah was a man who knew what broke his heart, who knew what God was asking him to do, and he did it. One of the quotes from the study that really challenged me is that

“God stands to accomplish the impossible through us while too often we’re content to settle for the explainable.” 

     I could feel the Lord asking me what I am willing to give up to live in a way that allows Him to be glorified through my life. Galatians 5:1 says that, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

    I’ve struggled with being apathetic and self-focused in my faith. I’ve had a personal struggle between being obedient to God’s calling and wanting to live my life my way, but with God’s stamp of approval. I’ve had my heart broken in relationships, I’ve been disappointed by people and life and myself, I’ve neglected some opportunities I’ve had for service before because they were too “radical/extreme” and I’ve always held something back. My focus has been on the wrong relationships, clothes, food, and personal entertainment but there’s no long term joy in that like there is in spending time with the Lord and being able to serve others. I now believe God’s brought me to this position in life of being 24, single, broken-hearted and with a new fire and energy to live my life with a purpose…a purpose to bring God glory and not me.

     One evening when I was in Swaziland we talked about Paul and how he writes in Philippians chapter 3 about desiring to know the Lord above all else. I know that the Lord loves people all over the world and that they need to know His love too. like I do. When I eventually began to pray specifically about doing the World Race trip the Lord used 1 John 4 to confirm me going. The first part of the chapter says, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.” And Verse 19 says, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” I began reading scripture with the purpose of searching for God’s commands and some them are to “follow me” and to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself” and to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven”, "to care for widows and orphans" and to “go and make disciples of all nations” 

      I honestly don’t know what I’ll do after the race but, I really appreciate everyone’s prayers and support as I try to continue to be obedient. I wanted to share because I wanted you to hear how the Lord used scripture and Bible study to give me a different direction in life. He flipped my plans upside down and I am so okay with that. I just know that because I have hope I need to share it. If I’m able to do the service then I need to do it. I’m trusting the Lord with the logistics and to place me in positions where He can use me the most. Romans 10 encourages me to be bold and to choose faith and not fear.“for Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (13-15)