Two weeks ago, I got the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Jamaica with a group of high school students to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We put on a VBS in the morning and then passed out care packages in the afternoon praying for the people we met. God was at work this week in all of our hearts. He stretched us in ways we may not have known going into the trip, and best of all we got to see kids give their lives to Christ. I could write about so many things God did both big and small, but there was one moment that really stood out to me.
God reminded me that He is there in the simple things, that even if I do not get the chance to mention Jesus’s name, my actions can show Jesus. We visited a special needs facility called West Haven. The moment we pulled up there was a group excitedly waiting for us. From the moment we stepped off the bus we were surrounded with hugs and people wanting to hold our hands and walk around with us. The moment that stood out to me was when I was headed in the use the restroom when these two girls caught my attention. They had some kind of disease that caused them to be permanently in wheel chairs unable move or speak, except for maybe an arm and a few noises. I went up to them and my heart just broke. All I could think to do in that moment was touch their arms, and the moment they felt physical touch they started smiling. I stood there for a few minutes touching their arms, smiling with them and spending time with them. I was blown away at how much a simple touch did, and there was so much joy on their faces. That made me think about all the small things, I had done that week from hugging kids, to having a simple conversation about someone’s life and praying for them. It is so simple and God works through that. Sometimes I get caught up in the big things God can do, that the small things get overlooked. I love that God reminded me of the small things in Jamaica.
Coming back from Jamaica, I really felt like I was being spiritually attacked this past week. I got sick, not being able to eat really anything except for soup and pretzels. Work was overwhelming trying to get caught up from being gone. I haven’t put any effort into fundraising lately because I have been gone off and on the last 2 months. Everything hit me this week and I just broke down. I felt so defeated and my spirit was broken. I can’t stand how the enemy uses my weak moments and knows how to make me feel so helpless. God is so good though. I called my friend Taylor because we try to have weekly chats to stay in touch with each other’s lives, and I talked to her about what was going on. She is an amazing friend, who listened to me and then immediately started to encourage me! I’m so blessed by her friendship, and that God had given her a verse that encouraged her a week ago, that she then told me to encourage me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:10
I love how God works! He knew I needed to hear this verse to be encouraged. I know God is preparing me for things that are to come, but it was a really tough week. I know I cannot do it on my own, and only with God’s help will He get me through this season of life. Spending time with God and just allowing Him to fill me up and be my strength is something I need to work on.
I have been working on sitting, praying, and listening to God this week. He knows my heart and what burdens me, and knows exactly how to help me through. I keep being reminded of the verse “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) God has made it so clear to me to be in His presence and He will take care of the rest.
As I did in my last post, I posted a song that God really put on my heart. God speaks to me a lot through song lyrics, and I learned this song in Jamaica called Rejoice by Dustin Kensrue. The lyrics below stood out to me:
Turning tragedy to triumph
Turning agony to praise
There is blessing in the battle
So take heart and stand amazed
The song is simple, yet has powerful lyrics. Take a listen below 🙂
