When I started my freshman year of college, I never thought graduation would come so quickly. Time passes so quickly and I have been cleared to graduate in April 2017. (If I pay my $50 graduation fee which I need to do as soon as possible, woops). Most of my friends are applying for jobs, planning weddings, or planning to go to graduate school.
Then there is me.I am not dating until July 2018, I am planning fundraisers, looking at huge backpacks, and diving into the Gospel like never before.
I am not following the traditional plan that most college graduates do and that is okay because I have peace about it. The peace I have is peace that only God can give. I have always been quirky and different. It is no coincidence that God’s calling for my life is different, just like me.
In August, I will leave the United States for 11 months to be missionary in 11 different countries. I will leave behind my cell phone, my car (I hope my brother’s don’t mess it up while I’m gone) my dog, my job(s), and my friends and family. I will be with other young people life myself who are called to be the light in the darkest of places.
Growing up in the heart of the “Bible Belt” one would think that I would be terrified to leave my comfort zone. I am not scared in the least. I am excited to love on people who may have never heard of Jesus Christ. I can’t imagine what it will be like to meet people everyday who do not know the JOY of Jesus. If I am able to share the Gospel with one person who has never heard of Jesus, my 11 months of roughin’ it will be well worth it. I am excited to leave behind the materialistic things I rely on (let us just pray the coffee is good in all the nations). I am excited to leave behind my comfort zones and spend a year relying only on the love of my Abba Father.
So for the girl who has had two jobs since she was 16, always made straight A’s in school, and always obeyed the rules; it is time to do something radical for Jesus.
“So what are you doing after you graduate, Roxanne?”
“Well I won’t be working for a year but I will be, speaking in churches, teaching in schools, building houses (yes me, Roxanne, building houses), singing, riding elephants, living out of a backpack, sleeping in a tent, eating weird foods, hanging out in Madagascar for a month, traveling the world with complete strangers, and living each day passionately for God, and planting seeds each day to further the kingdom of God.
Stay tuned for more,
Roxanne 🙂
