Here is the deal – when I love something or someone – I tend
to be pretty vocal about it. When my
sister, Randi, was pregnant with the twins … I literally spent hours a day
thinking about them, talking about them and imagining what life would be like when
they arrived. I am sure that I drove
everyone around me nuts with the amount of time I spent talking about them and
making them look at picture after picture!
It is just who I am! Some like to
call it obsessive – I prefer loyal, dedicated and passionate!!
With all that said – about 4 years ago, I started watching
the Ellen DeGeneres show pretty faithfully and I got hooked. She not only has the greatest sense of humor,
but how can I resist a show that promotes dancing?!! It got to where the absolute highlight of my
day was coming home after work and watching the Ellen show. Did not matter what happened during the day –
Ellen could always put me in a great mood!
God called me to go on the World Race and I can honestly say that besides
leaving my family and friends – I seriously mourned having to go an entire year
without getting to watch Ellen. So, I
found a small solution – I brought her stand-up DVD with me on the Race and not
only did I watch it every month, but I forced others into watching it with me
(and they LOVED it)!! I like to say that
I spent a year as a missionary converting others … into Ellen fans!!
On the Race – my heart for Ellen began to grow … maybe it
was the absence that did it to me. But,
truly, I felt like God was calling me to start praying for her – really praying
for her. So, for the past almost 2 years
now … I have been faithfully praying for her.
I pray more of God’s presence in her life and I pray that He would be so
real to her that she would never doubt.
I pray that any false words about the Lord that have been spoken to her –
that He doesn’t love her or that she is unacceptable to Him … would fall out of
her mind and that God would surround her with people that not only love Him,
but have a way of bringing His presence into her life daily. My heart is that above all other things – she
could be settled in knowing that Christ is passionately in love with her!
So, let’s just say – going to the Ellen show was an actual
dream of mine and something I talked about at least 3-5 times a DAY …
seriously, ask my friends!! I have had
many plans for my friendship with Ellen – but I never thought I would ACTUALLY
get to go to her show. It all happened
so fast and after a quick conversation with a new friend, an email appeared in
my inbox that read VIP Ellen tickets
9/20 – and I literally could not open it.
I made my friend, Ashley, open the email and read it to me … while I
stood with my face against a wall and tried to remember to breathe!! I could not believe that my actual dream was
going to come true and that this woman that I have prayed for and that I truly
care about (even though I don’t personally know her) – would be so close to
me. Now I just hoped for some sort of
personal moment with her – to be able to share my heart with her or really just
dance with her.
I woke up the day of the show nervous and just anticipating
a lot. And, somehow by seriously the
grace of God, I stayed calm! As we got
to the studio, I just couldn’t believe my actual dream was happening before my
eyes. I tried to make sure that I took
it all in and just enjoyed every single moment.
When we were brought into the studio, myself and the two girls with me
were seated on the very front row of the audience and that was really
exciting. There is about 45 minutes or so where the
audience is getting “warmed-up” and there is a lot of dancing and singing
happening. We even get to practice
clapping and cheering…but of course, the dancing was my favorite. Everyone knows that this missionary LOVES to
booty dance!! Then, much to my surprise – they announced Ellen. This was my only freak out moment – I was so
startled by it that I just ran in place and screamed at an octave I did not
know existed in my voice!! Then, when I
almost passed out from the screaming, I just stood, with my hand on my heart,
and tried to take in the fact that Ellen DeGeneres was standing 10 feet in
front of me … and I was just so happy!! My
heart was so happy and content for the next hour – and I made sure to dance my
heart out during all the commercial/dance breaks!!
The show was really great – so funny and entertaining and
Ellen was just as charming as she is on TV.
She just loves people and she has the best comedic timing – my face was
hurting from smiling and laughing for the whole hour. Then, the hour was over and she thanked
everyone for coming … and that was that – over just like that! This dream of mine I have had for four years
was just over. I don’t in any way want
to make it seem like I was disappointed by the experience, but my heart was a
little sad when it was over. And, it was
actually pretty odd to be that close to her, and not have ANY access to her –
nothing! To be that close and to want to
just be able to say “hey … I genuinely love you … thanks for making my day …
everyday” and to not be able to talk to her or even get close to her – that was
weirder than I thought it would be.
Clearly I understand how famous she is and I also had a reality check
when the truth was that she has NO idea that I even exist. But, I also think she would really like me if
she had met me … I am pretty fun!
I think in all of this hype and excitement … I felt the Lord
telling me – “You always have access to me … You don’t blend in with a crowd
and when you call to me – I am always anticipating talking to you.” I guess I wasn’t expecting that, but the Lord
knew exactly what my heart needed to hear after a day full of so many emotions!
If the video below is not working … click HERE!
