I. LOVE. BEGINNINGS. The excitement of the start of something new, getting to discover, explore and learn is something that I dearly love. My story, my Jesus story began unexpectedly in a quirky and quaint donut shop. My friend and I were reconnecting after I had been away at college and reached out to me to come check out this new gem that she had found downtown.That is where my beginning happened.
It was totally a divine appointment because I don’t even really like donuts. Her friend had met us there and he began talking about Jesus. This was a total foreign concept to me, to see a person talking about Jesus as if Jesus was his most favorite person in the whole world. Jesus was real and present to him. I was soaking it all in as he spoke, thinking “who is this person and what does he have that I don’t?” While my mind was trying to process all of this, he turned to me and asked me, “ What does it mean to be a Christian to you?”
I struggled to even find the verbiage to answer that question. I mustered up the answer, the only thing that I knew Christians were supposed to do, was “serve” though clearly, after hearing him speak for the last hour I had NO IDEA. He answered with a kind “No”… I wasn’t surprised. I felt that I had just failed to answer the million dollar question. He quickly explained himself and started speaking of what life was like to truly walk with Jesus and started speaking into identity and who we are called to be in the Kingdom.
For the first time in my life I was actually sitting with people outside of church or a church function and the Lord was the only thing that they wanted to talk about. I can remember to this day thinking, “I can never be the same, I know too much”. That night in a donut shop a seed was sown, a rare and beautiful seed that has changed my entire life.
I know.. it sounds extremely cliche but it is the truth. I was introduced to the Truth, Truth of identity, Truth of how intimate the Lord wants to be with us! it redefined the trajectory of my walk with Jesus.
That night in the donut shop, my friends and I talked into the early hours of the morning. That was my beginning, the beginning of my walk with the Lord in a genuine and new way that I didn’t even know was possible. From the seed that was planted so unexpectedly I have witnessed the Lord transform me into a Woman of God that is not even recognizable compared to who I was four years ago.
It is a little overwhelming and humbling just thinking about how much the Lord has done in my life when I began to spend time with him. I didn’t even know what that looked like, but I spent nights banging the keys of a keyboard like “keyboard cat” and pouring my heart out to the Lord discovering a little piece of what intimacy looks like with the Father and being obedient to little things that lead to amazing testimonies of the Lord’s faithfulness and power. Over these years, I have learned so much about myself and have seen the Lord purify so many parts of my life and redeem relationships and reveal who He has created me to be.
The World Race is something that the Lord has drawn me to for such a time as this. A new beginning, a new journey to discover the Lord in even more abundant ways and to maybe even plant the magical donut seed in other people’s lives across the world.
Thank you for being a part of my new beginning! I cannot thank you enough for all the prayers, encouragement, and love that has been shown to me thus far. If you feel led to donate that is amazing and I am so grateful! But, more than anything, I thank you for coming alongside me in this and being obedient to what role the Lord wants you play in this journey.
With Love,
Caleigh
