T-SHIRTS. T-SHIRTS. T-SHIRTS. Silly me wasn’t thinking that the t-shirt company would be closed the Friday before and New Year’s day. oooppppsyyyy. I will have my t-shirt design to show y’all in the next few days!
Do you feel sort of stuck? Kind of like you keep doing the right thing, but you’re getting nowhere. The story below is a true testimony of how God’s hand is in everything and His timing is perfect.
August: I went to Kentucky Lake with a friend and their family. Being the daredevil I am, I jumped off the boat into the water… a couple of times actually. It was a blast!
A few hours later, I had a headache, my body felt weak, and my left ear seemed clogged. I assured everyone that it was probably only water in my ear. Boy was I wrong. Two days later, I woke up with the left side of my face completely swollen and a few (what looked like) boils. To top it off, I had to go to work. Not a cute moment for me. Ha!
I went to the doctor that afternoon, and they had a few ideas about what it could be: busted ear drum, staph, severe ear infection, but they told me it was too swollen to know 100%.
They put me on antibiotics and the swelling and what seemed to be an infection went away, but the headache and feeling of a clogged ear stayed. Fun fact: I try to avoid going to the doctor more than I have to (terrified), so I went with the ole “just rub some dirt on it” mindset.
October: A member of our church, who is known for her love and faithfulness to the Lord, came and spoke to our young adult ministry. I was fascinated by her relationship with God. Being the bold person I am (haha), I walked up and asked her to dinner. She is married with children, grandchildren, the whole enchilada, so I knew there was a small chance for us actually hanging out but heyyy it was worth a shot.
November: The pain in my left ear had gotten worse. A lot worse! To the point, where I was begging to see a doctor. Me! Wanting to see a doctor… My mother knew I had to be in a lot of pain, so I went to see another doctor to get a 2nd opinion who then referred me to a specialist and then the specialist said I needed to get an MRI. No one could tell me what was wrong.
December: I was feeling froggy and decided to jump online to message the lady from church about dinner. She was so sweet, but we couldn’t find an exact date that worked for both of us. It would be a superrr random dinner anyways, so why was I being so persistent?
At the time, I didn’t even really understand the “why” myself. Ha!
Two weeks later, it was MRI time.
I got a phone call the next day (Friday) from the specialist who had my MRI results. She informed me that I had a cyst on my brain, and she was referring me to a neurologist. Then she started saying words like tumor and other fancy doctor words.. Y’all, I’m pretty sure I blacked out because I stopped listening and my only response to her was “I appreciate your phone call, ma’am. Enjoy your night.” Then I hung up the phone.
What in the world was happening? I started crying, praying and honestly wondering how this could be happening to me.
Me?? Seeing a neurologist?? Ahhhhhh. What was I going to do?
Pray. Pray. And then pray some more. Listen to what happened over the next three days. I’m still shocked!!
- On Tuesday, they called and told me the earliest they could get me in to see the neurologist was Jan. 16.
- On Wednesday, the lady from church messaged me out of the blue and asked if I was free for dinner that night. Over dinner, she told me how one of the top neurosurgeons in the country went to our church. The neurosurgeon ended up being the mother of one of my friends. What?? CHECK MY PHONE, I didn’t make the next part up. My friend (whose mother is the neurosurgeon) texted me around 9:30pm that night. We hadn’t spoken in weeks. She called her mother and told me to go to her office at noon the next day.
- On Thursday, my mom drove into Memphis (#1 mommy), and I saw the neurosurgeon. She looked at the MRI results, told me that “yes” I have a cyst on my brain; however, it wasn’t causing the problems. She diagnosed me with some long crazy word, stuck a needle in my brain, and prescribed me medicine. I haven’t felt an ounce of pain since. My mind is still blown!!!
Do you see what happened?? The timing is too perfect for it all to be just coincidence. God’s hand was in it all. Piece by piece it all worked together. Even in the middle, when I didn’t understand the real purpose behind going to dinner with the lady from church, God was there.
This time next year, I will be leaving Southeast Asia and heading over to Africa. Do I know what city I’ll be in? No. Do I know what type of ministry I’ll be serving in? No. Have I even met in person the team I will be traveling across the world with? No. But I do know that God’s hand is in it all.
I don’t know why God has put it on my heart to go on the World Race, but I don’t have to understand. I just have to say “yes” and trust his timing.
Right now, you’re probably scrolling on your phone or computer looking at people’s New Year goals or even creating your own. It always starts off strong. New Year, New You!
This can often lead to disappointment… not because you don’t have great goals. But because you want the goal achieved tomorrow. Give it time. I wanted to be healed way back in August, but I had to wait.
One month from today, after going strong with your new (whatever you want your New Year goals to be) think back and remember how you’re only in the middle. Give it time. God has a specific plan just for you. It may not make sense right now but trust that God is there with you fulfilling a greater plan. Stay focused.
NEW YEAR, NEW PERSPECTIVE.
As always, thank you so much for your support! If you haven’t already, hit the subscribe button at the top for updates. If you would like to donate, click the donate button. Every little bit helps toward reaching the $18,000 amount. If you’re interested in knowing more about the World Race or have travel tips, shoot me an email at [email protected]. You’re appreciated!! Happy New Year!
LOVE YOU!!
Verse of the week: “Let us not become wearing in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Song of the week: Control by Tenth Avenue North
