2 posts down and I have yet to share this…
Who? What? Where? When? And How? Why am I doing the WorldRace? What brought me here?! WHERE AM I?!! AAaaahhhh!!
(Woah, let me just wind down a bit and start from the beginning)
Have you ever just sat on your bed in the morning or late at night looking around you and feeling like you were born for more?
I have. For the longest time I thought it was some sort of defense mechanism, something inside me that would work like one of those self improvement handbooks that make you feel worthy and all "you can do it!" Yeah… but it's not. How do I know… Because God told me so.
"Ely, you're going to do amazing things for my glory!"
-God
Oh, and I believe it.
Who? Called me? Well… God. Several times actually! Unfortunately I was a bit distracted at the time and might've missed the memo once or twice (yup, like some of us [Let's be honest, I know I'm not the only one] I was on a rollercoaster that seemed to never end. Up and down, closer and farther, God and no God) It was bad. 🙁 The awesome thing about God is that he never gives up. 🙂 Just when you think he gave it a rest, he shows up out of no where! He's a persistant one. It's awesome how he believes in us more than we do in ourselves. So What happened? It's pretty simple actually. There I was, getting used to the new leadership position He had placed me in-(Wait, let me take a moment and share with you a little about my relationship with God. You see, I am a very… very distracted person. If I'm not constantly doing something I poke around trying to find something to do [usually end up getting myself into trouble] So God, being an all knowing, awesome God! Helps me out, by throwing 10 million things my way that will benefit his kingdom. Sometimes causing me to panic, but always there to help me out). So… How did it happen? Well, there I was, working with the wonderful AWAKE (our 12-17 youth group). Getting used to this new leadership position, excited about the plans God had for this group and at the same time getting a bit comfy when BAM! God throws me a pass several yards from the endzone and SPLAT! Not ready to step it up, I land on my face! 🙁 Honestly, when God said "WorldRace" I freaked out. I filled out the application in Obedience, but for 2 weeks I did not send it. I was comfortable! All my life I've wanted to do this, but when it came to pressing the send button, I froze. I was scared 🙁 So for 3 days after that, I did not sleep. 3 days!! I prayed and prayed. I prayed for sleep. It wasn't until after the third night that I finally quit and sent the application in. And boy was that night amazing!! I've never had such great sleep in my life!! But then. Not even a second after pressing the send button, fear decided to drop in for a visit. That's when things started to get really interesting. (Fun Fact:When God says He's got your back, He means it) That same weekend we had a youth leader/prayer conference where I had the opportunity to meet and speak with several other leaders, youth pastors and pastors from different parts of the country. To make the story short on the third day while praying for one another God shared a message to me through one of the pastors.
"Keep living in Obedience. But remember, delayed Obedience is DisObedience."
-God (through Pastor Jason)
Ouch 🙁
"Ely I declare the spirit of Abraham in you, that when God says go. You go."
-Pastor Jason
So here I am! Ready to rock, ready to go!
