I have been struggling lately to write a blog for you guys to see. This journey I have chosen to set out on has proven to be difficult in more ways than one. In the beginning I was naive and definitely didn’t have the knowledge I needed to embark on an adventure like this one. I thought that if God called me to it, He would provide through it. While this is always a true statement, it has taken so much more than just these words during this period of the adventure.
I got a call yesterday about one of my mom’s co-workers. His name is Mr. Fred. This sweet, humble man was one of my supporters for the World Race. He was selfless in his giving and his prayers were said to be many. He was the joy and laughter of the office and everyone looked forward to seeing him each day. While I don’t know Mr. Fred on a personal level, my mom has known him for many years and considers him a forever friend.
While I was working yesterday, my mom called to tell me the news. Mr. Fred has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer and is resigning from his job. Later in the evening she shared all the fun stories about him and told us about the kind of relationships he had developed with several employees throughout the years. I could hear her getting choked up as she was telling me about his love for people. She said that if he is eligible for the option of treatment, he will take it just to get one more year with his family and friends. If not, he will spend the next 3 months living life to the fullest as he always has until God says it’s time to come home.
As she was telling me all of this I was overcome with sadness and heartbreak for him and his family. How does he feel about this? Is he scared? What is going through his mind? All I know is that satan is going after him right now in the worst way possible. That’s when my mom spoke up and told me that he has lived a good life. He has traveled the world and loved others well. He has done the job that God gave him here on earth to the best of his ability and he is prepared for the day that God looks at him and says, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”
Lately, I have been struggling with the back-and-forth’s of this journey I am on. As many of you know, I have to prepare quite a bit for this trip. One of the things I have to do is raise enough money to go. This has been my biggest struggle. Just like satan is attacking Mr. Fred with this terrible disease, he is using my fear of not raising all the money in time for my trip in my own life each day. I have been a complete wreck in the recent past. I have gone from happy and trusting to nervous and semi-trusting. Then I build up the courage to stomp on satan’s head and trust The Lord with my whole heart again.
I have made excuses for why I should wait and not go on the World Race this year, but instead hold out until next year. At the same time, I have also been reminded that the bible tells us that DELAYED OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE. It is not up to us to decide when/where we should go for Christ and how everything will be provided. That’s God’s department. All we are asked to do is listen and be obedient.
If you feel that God is placing it on your heart to become a monthly donor or even one-time donor, please don’t hesitate to listen to Him. Your obedient giving will have a huge part in my obedient going.
Before I let you guys go, I’d like to say… HERE’S TO YOU MR. FRED!! Although you may never have the chance to see this, you have helped teach me one of the most valuable lessons I will ever learn… That we will all leave this earth one day, but it’s how we obey God’s calling on our lives and love others the way Christ intended for us to that truly defines us and the legacy we leave behind. Thank you sir! My gratitude and love for you is never ending!!
-Danielle Mills
