Currently Listening: Nick Waterhouse, Ethos, and Zac Brown Band’s new album…an eclectic mix.
Current Location: Swift & Finch Coffee Shop in Rome, GA..it’s a little loud, but overall enjoyable.
Shout out: Happy birthday to my Mama today! (Your present is in the mail….)
Well, here goes, guys. It’s tomorrow. For a week. July 14-21. I will be hanging out with my squad, other squads, and God.
I’m a little nervous, to be completely honest. I packed last night and it was .. fun. My pack ended up around 37 pounds, which is almost half of me..absolutely not quite, but close enough for me to flip out a little. All of that being said – I think I’m taking out those sweatpants (that I packed *just in case* it got cold…let’s be real. I’mma soak up the cold after these 100+ temperatures) and a few t-shirts. I don’t need 5 tshirts if I’m taking 4 tank tops.. Let’s be absolutely real here.
I also realized this morning that I forgot to pack shoes – granted, I’m only taking my tennis shoes, chacos, and a pair of dinky flip-flops..but I should still pack them…and some socks. Other than that, it’s all ready to go. Seriously. I can’t believe it.
This is it. Really. This is it.
By the way – God has been huge in several ways in the past week. Not only do I have pretty much all of my gear that I need (for LAUNCH, guys, not just camp), but he’s also provided a few really huge donations through some unexpected sources. A week ago (or more) I was approached three times in this very place about the Race (and I don’t come to S&F a lot..or haven’t until the past week). I can’t explain God’s provision.
I also spent a good amount of time with a friend and kindred spirit on Tuesday night over a cup of ginger peach tea and a cream soda discussing the blatant preparation God has enacted in my life over the past year or two. A year ago I was struggling to pay for Berry again. I was attempting to offset the cost of my last year by moving off campus and buying a car. Even after intense prayer God shut both of those doors in order to open the door for me to be on campus, experience a ridiculous fall semester and somehow find myself exposed to the Race. He provided once again in terms of financial aid and transportation. I was able to save money and pay my tuition. At the same time. Which is literally impossible without God. Because I was still living on campus I was able to move in with two of the most incredible friends last spring and devote so much time on campus to fundraisers and getting the word out about this crazy trip. He provided a committee of friends and fundraising opportunities and I was able to get closer to some incredible friends!
In the spring I began to feel extremely disconnected at my church that I have called home for almost four years. God was preparing me to leave. A year ago I was planning to stay in Rome after graduation and try to get a job at the church or in Rome so that I could stay connected. God changed that.
I’ve also had to learn to keep in touch with friends who have moved or are away – long distance friendships are hard! But God has provided..and it’s been incredible. God proves once again that community is not always physically present, but is always spiritually present.
There are so many other ways that God has provided and literally made mountains flat and filled in valleys in order to put me here – on the verge of this journey for a year to carry His name to the nations.
I’m overwhelmed and cannot tell you a day or a moment where I haven’t felt unworthy or somehow ill-equipped for this, but I am reminded that scripture says He equips us for what He has called us to do/be.
And as my dear friend, Emily, said – He does not put just anyone through the fire..only those in whom He is fully confident.
God is confident in my squad and I. He is preparing us. He is equipping us and preparing us.
And I absolutely can’t wait.
