At long last, I am finally on the Race! It is truly amazing how “I don’t leave until next September,” quickly turned into “Oh no, I have to fit everything in this room into one bag because I leave in 3 hours!” It all happened so fast, but I really could not be happier to be here right now! The people on my Squad are incredible, the food is fantastic, and the country, the Dominican Republic, is just absolutely beautiful!
Shortly before I left, I was on the phone with a supporter, and he shared with me a small part of his testimony.
A few years ago, he was sitting in church, when his Pastor announced they were sending missionaries somewhere in Africa. He thought about it for a second, and then realized that it was not for him; he resolved that a donation would be sufficient.
Africa had always been a place of interest to him, but not in the sense of mission work. Tourism was more like it. Traveling the large continent and seeing Elephants was of prime interest.
On his ride home from church that day, however, his wife brought up the trip, almost suggesting he go. While he tried to brush it off, she finally got through to him. He was going.
He told me that the time he spent in country were some of the greatest, most life changing moments of his life. Absolutely worth it. He was doing good work in the name of God.
One day, he was able to go out and explore the area around him. After walking for a while, he came upon this great pasture, and lo-and-behold, he witnessed one of the largest herds of Elephants in existence!
You see, he always wanted to tour Africa and see Elephants there. He never got to Africa as a tourist though. It took answering the call of God to get him there. And when he did that, he was gifted with one of his greatest desires. All it took was a Godly reroute of his initial plan.
God knows what we want in our lives; He knows our greatest desires. He has our best interests at heart. Sometimes, he just takes us on a different route to get there. We have to trust him.
We all have an “Elephant,” something we really desire, something we really expect to come to us at some point in our life. But our hope for that “Elephant” may get in the way of what God is trying to tell us. We may have a plan to get to that “Elephant,” and might shut out God’s plan to get to it. So, in the end, we just have to hand it up to God because He knows what is best for us.
“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)
God provides for those that follow him. So stop hoping for Elephants and just place your trust in him. He knows, and he will deliver.
