Why must a “get to know you blog” always be so difficult to formulate?!
I am a person of many words and the Lord onlyknows all my thoughts, emotions (pretty much pure excitement), and opinions that can’t even begin to be fully expressed through a blog post.
Alas, I will attempt.
I have been blessed by two beautiful, encouraging, Christ-loving parents, both Wheaton College graduates. My father is the logical realist and a high school math teacher for umpteen years at Joliet West. He loves to build and remodel, from cigar box guitars to remodeling our whole house; you name it, he can build it. He can also do just about any magic trick in the book. One year for Christmas we bought him a “King of the nerds” shirt, and needless to say it was rather fitting. My mother is pretty much the joy of my heart. She is a Children’s Ministry director at our home church, and this job most definitely defines her. She exudes organization, decorating, and is the beautiful prayer warrior of the Spradley home. I have one older brother, Luke, who pretty much defines the essence of joy. He graduated from Wheaton College (seeing a trend?) with a degree in music and attended Bethel School of Supernatural ministry for a year and a half before he and his wife permanently settled in Warrenville, IL. My baby sister, aka “mini me,” is completing her final year of high school and keeping her future options open to wherever the Lord calls her. She is my best friend and number one support. And then there’s me, the beloved middle child. Disclaimer: all the stereotypes are true.
My adventure hasn’t really left the south suburbs of Illinois, but God is here! He brought me to a small CRC Dutch School in August of 2011, Trinity Christian College, and the 2 and ½ years of life I have spent here have been the most exciting, eventful, and fulfilling 2 and ½ years I could have asked for. God met me here. After years and years of avoiding Him, neglecting Him, hating Him, and wanting nothing to do with Him, my world and what I thought I wanted for myself finally stopped when He grabbed my heart and my hand January 2012 and encountered me with His loving presence and purpose for my life. He has truly redeemed me and my story is nothing short of a miracle because of what He has done.
So, “WHY the WorldRace” you ask?! I’ve been asking the same question, friends.
Isn’t God crazy?! He changes what we think to be our weaknesses into strengths. He breathes life into our every move and molds our hearts to look more and more like His. He asks us to come, seek out, and dwell in His presence. He wants us to be a part of His plan, yet He doesn’t need us. He would be just FINE without us but He is so desperate for relationship with us that He used the soft, hesitant mutter we sometimes give Him that says, “Send me,” and creates a warrior out of us. Every time I hesitantly walk into something I feel the Lord calling me into, I am amazed by what He can do. He has made me a warrior princess, a daughter, a demon fighter, a ministry leader, a sister, and a friend to many. He has given me a heart to love the lost, to intercede for the voiceless, and to carry the burdens of others. I guess all this to say, I gave God my small, hesitant “send me” and He brought me here, to the World Race. And I am trusting, because I have seen it before, that He is going to use me, and all of my team, as willing vessels to empower and further His Kingdom through His love. He is going to take our weaknesses and turn them into His strengths. I am ready for Him to send me to the dark places and to the broken places to be His love.
Are you with me friends?!
