I started learning piano when I was eight years
old.
I wrote my first song when I was 13.
That first song led to a passion I did not know I
had. I started writing more and
more songs.
Senior year in high-school my sister and I recorded
our first CD consisting of eight songs I had written. We spent the remaining year traveling to several different
churches and selling our CDs.
After high-school I decided to pursue a degree in
music at Southeastern University.
I fell in love with music when I was eight years
old. I fell in love with music
again when I wrote my first song.
When I graduated from college I was excited for the
future. I had dreams of moving to
Nashville to become a songwriter.
After graduation, I visited several different
coffee shops, churches, and restaurants to play my music. I just wanted to play anywhere and
everywhere!
However, afterwards I found
myself feeling unsatisfied and
unfulfilled.
I
was so confused because I always felt that music was what God wanted me to
do.
That
is when I came into contact with the World Race. How I found out about the race is a whole other blog that I
plan on writing, but for now lets just say it was a God thing.
At
first I did not want to go on the Race, because I already had plans for my
future.
In
January I planned on moving to Nashville to pursue a music career. However, now I was confused more than
ever before because here I was unhappy with playing music.
That’s
when I started to pray. I think
most of my prayers went something like, “God if you want me to go
on this trip, just send a lightening bolt or have a random stranger tell me to
go and then I will do it.”
I wanted a sign, because if I
was not sure this is what God had for me, than I’d rather go back to my own
planned future.
It’s funny, because God did
not send a lightening bolt. But
for some reason the messages he sent seemed to be even more compelling. I read
racers blogs and they spoke straight to my heart. Also the world race website had a motto up that said “What
can Joy do”? Which is my middle name and made me wonder, “is God asking me what
I can do, if I can really go share His love with the nations”?
So here I was at a
crossroad———–
I think there are moments
or decisions in our lives that can change the whole course of our lives. I also think that it’s funny that we
try so hard to plan our future, and then God swoops down and rearranges it to
where we completely have no clue what it is.
It was hard to choose the
world race. It was hard giving up
music for a year. When I started
questioning the world race, it terrified me thinking about not playing the piano for a year or
not pursuing music.
But Now…..
I am terrified of not making an impact on somebody’s life this year.
I am terrified of missing out on God’s plan.
I am terrified of not telling someone about God’s love, that I was supposed to
tell.
I am terrified that I will be so focused on me, that I will miss out on THEM.
Proverbs 16:9
‘A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.’
