March 13, 2020 will be a day that I will probably always remember. It was the end of life as I knew it, & the beginning of the life that I know now. It was the first day of an era in history that my children will probably read about in a textbook. It was one of the last normal days of my life that I can recall.
A year ago today, I went to high school for the last time in my life. I had no idea at the time, but soon I would be mourning what seemed like everything to me. All that my life had revolved around for the past 4 years had just been ripped away from me, & it was the last way I ever would have expected my senior year to end. I walked out of the front doors of my school for the last time that day, holding lighthearted conversations with childhood friends. I got into my car & drove home in that after-school traffic for the last time.
A year ago today, I had no idea what a Covid world looked like. The Coronavirus was something I heard about on television, & I never expected it to be something that affected my life.
A year ago today, I didn’t know what the World Race was. Sure, maybe I would have been interested in a short-term mission trip. But giving up 9 months of my life to follow the Lord? No, thanks.
A year ago today, I was comfortable. I had my whole life planned out for myself. I was accepted to my dream school. I had the perfect summer job lined up. I was going to graduate, go to college, & do all the other things that the people around me were doing. I had no interest in asking the Lord where He wanted to take me. I thought I knew best, after all. & I never expected to be where I am today.
Today, I woke up in a sleeping bag on the floor of a house in the mountains of Ecuador. I was surrounded by 10 other women who I now could not see my life without, but who a year ago today, I had never even heard of.
Today, we are harvesting tomatoes to raise funds for the nine other girls who live here, who have been rescued from sex trafficking & abuse. We’ve spent our time here loving on these young girls, doing our best to show them the heart of Jesus through our words & actions. We have sang & danced & smiled & laughed & learned together. I have loved & been loved so tenderly yet boldly in this place.
Today, I am a part of something much bigger than I ever could’ve imagined. Things change when you decide to work on God’s schedule instead of your own. I’m no longer doing good things on my own strength to try & prove my faith to myself or those around me; I’m simply bringing the Kingdom that He places in my hands daily to those around me.
Today, I am walking with the Lord, letting Him determine my steps. I am so much more excited for what He has planned for me than anything I could’ve come up with on my own. I am learning & I am growing & I am laying my life down everyday to live for Him instead.
Today, I sat around our little kitchen with my friends who have also lived a similar year as me. I got to reminisce on my high school days & we shared sentiments over memories not made. We joked about how we don’t know anything different than a Covid world, & I realized that I couldn’t imagine this past year looking any differently than it did.
A year ago today, I never could have pictured my life the way that it is today.
Today, I am more sure than ever that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
