Five days left in my home, with my friends and family, the familiar, and New England. In August it felt like the day to leave was so far away and now it’s five days away!!! I’m so excited for this amazing opportunity to leap off the ground, but I’m also the most scared I’ve ever been. As I’ve been preparing by getting numerous things I need and trying to organize, I have become very familiar with spiritual attacks. Everything started to feel like it was all going wrong and falling apart, and I’m not entirely even past it yet!
Finances have been a struggle. While being fully funded for my trip (which is so amazing) there were still so many things that I needed to get and take car of. I have been connecting with my teammates since we are all experiencing similar struggles, and it has been very helpful but also surprisingly stressful! While it is helpful to get advise and compare with your teammates, it also brings stress when you think that you need more things or yours isn’t the right version. But God prevails and provides. He has provided me the finances I need and has given me the answers and patience in getting what I need to be prepared. Spiritual attack 0, God 1.
Oh the pure joys of vaccinations and medications. In the process of getting my vaccinations and medications multiple appointments were cancelled and rescheduled multiple times. My insurance wouldn’t cover my vaccinations and malaria medication but I didn’t have the finances for it. I began to feel so discouraged that maybe I wasn’t supposed to be getting them because this isn’t where God wants me. He messed up and this actually isn’t his plan for me, right? Wrong. I realized this is just another spiritual attack and that I need to put my strength and trust in God. And would you look at that, everything worked out! Spiritual attack 0, God 2.
And the hardest one of them all. I have been in a long distance relationship for seven months now. He has been away at college in Virginia while I have been home in Massachusetts so we would only see each other every couple of months. Our relationship has grown significantly with this situation we are in but it has also been one of the hardest things we have been through. It has taught us that time together is precious, communication is key, and that time apart helps us to grow spiritually for ourselves and for our relationship. But boy has it been hard. When you love someone you want to spend as much time with them as possible and experience life together, but with long distance the best you can get is through a camera. He has been home for a month for winter break and it has been the best time. But with that time it makes you realize how hard it is going to be to be gone for three and a half months, in different time zones, and with minimal communication. I started to think that maybe it would be better for our relationship if I didn’t go through with this. I would be able to talk to him more and it would be more functional. But God made something clear to me. This isn’t wrong, this is a blessing for our relationship. I will grow closer to God and live my life for Him, while my boyfriend is doing just that in Virginia as well. We will grow as a couple because of the distance, recognizing our time is precious and that we are becoming stronger as individuals. I’m excited for God to help us grow and to see where He will take us when we are together again. Spiritual attack 0, God 3.
Now, lets do this!!!
