It was Easter Sunday and we were asked to give the word and to share a few of our testimonies of how we were called to The World Race. I knew that I needed to share, but did not really know how or what on. I just knew that I needed to speak. So I spent the few days that we had leading up to the service in prayer and thought, but did not get many answers.
So I enter into the church with no message planned.
We begin to worship through singing and the last 2 songs stood out to me. We sang “You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me & make me, this is what I pray” and “I give my life to the otter’s hand”.
I began to think, what does it look like to be clay. This is where my story began.
Clay starts out as nothing. It is formless, ugly, plain, solid, and without life. It needs a Creator. Someone with a vision/plan for that clay. The Creator molds and re-molds until perfection is reached. Occasionally in the molding process, unwanted material enters (sticks, dust/dirt, pebbles, etc…), so the Creator pulls them out. Once the creation period is over, it moves into a glazing stage. This seals the work of the Creator. From here, there is a curing process. The time of this varies on the size of the project and of the specific clay material. Then from this moment, the item is ready to be used.
This seemed to be the perfect analogy for me and to how I have made it to The World Race. I have wanted to go on a mission trip for 10 years, but each year I heard from the Lord “No”. Sometime it was, “No, I have to teach you something first” and other times it was “No, it is not safe” and occasionally “No, I still have to prepare you.” With each new year, I wanted to go go go! I was in a period of being molded and re-molded. In those 10 years, God was preparing me for the many experiences here for the World Race and for the future ahead of me. I wanted to rush into something that I was not ready for. Similar to clay (and concrete) if you rush the curing process and test it, it is weaker and can break easily. I am so thankful for a long period of being prepared. From that I have learned my Identity in Christ, my passions, how to live simply, a love for people and disciplined life in the Lord.
Now I am fully ‘cured’ and ready to be used all around the world to the many nations.
