In three days I will be boarding my flight to Atlanta to begin my race. That’s three days to soak up love from my family, to hang out one last time with my best friends, and to enjoy the comfort of my bed. This last week at home has been a tough one for me….I go into every lunch date, hang out, or late night drive knowing it’s ending with a goodbye. It’s been a week filled with tears.
I’m so overwhelmed by how much love I’ve received that I don’t know where to begin. I’m sad about leaving and grieving the loss of my comforts, but I’m so excited to see my squad again and to experience God. And no matter how torn I feel, or how spent I am, it’s all because I am filled with so much love I don’t know what to do with myself. So for that, I wanted to take the time to thank you all.
To my supporters: Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers and donations. This would NOT be possible without your warrior spirits and generous hearts. Your donations came with sacrifice and they are not unappreciated. Thanks to you, I have been able to not only reach my deadlines on time, but exceed them. Thanks to you, I get to go to the nations and spread God’s love and joy. Thanks to you, I get to have my life transformed. You all are wonderful. God bless.
To my friends: Oh my goodness, guys, thank you for being here for me through alllllll the tears, the ramblings, the back and forths, and the highs. I will be praying for you all constantly, and please–for the sake of Mama Shelby, please take care of yourselves and rely on the Lord. You all know how I worry 🙂 You lift me up when I’m doubting myself and encourage me to keep going. Even through tears of missing me, you tell me how much you love me and how much I need this. Your unselfish love overwhelms my heart and I thank God for each one of you. My heart could not be more full, and gosh, that blows my mind. 11 months will fly by.
To my family: Your excitement for my trip gives me such motivation. You’ve not batted an eye to me wanting to go despite the uncertainty of it. My heart is warmed every time one of you tells me how proud you are of me. I will miss you all during holidays, vacations, and last-minute get togethers. Thank you for your support, and for supporting my parents as well. I love you!
To my parents: There are days I am baffled at how I got to be so blessed to be born to the most incredible parents. You are selfless, strong, loving, supportive, Godly-examples, and have made me who I am today. You’ve showered me with love when I was making stupid mistakes all because you trusted God’s plan for me. I admire how you set your own doubts and fears aside in order to let me follow the Lord and I will never be able to thank you for letting my heavenly Father step in. Thank you for maintaining your own personal relationships with the Lord and staying close to Him. By following His will, you’ve placed every stepping stone on my path to lead to me to be a woman of God. Thank you for calming my nerves and putting me at ease. Thank you for reinforcing God’s purpose for me. Thank you for making sure I get to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity. I could go on and on for awhile….I couldn’t have been given a more open-minded set of parents with even bigger hearts. I love you so much and I owe you the world.
I want to thank everyone for giving me nothing but love. I have not had one person tell me that I’m dumb, naive, etc. for doing this. No matter who I tell, they are excited for me! Even the cashier at the retail store yesterday was so excited for me! God is written all over this experience, and He has given me you all as my amazing support system to carry me through. I love you all and owe you the world for this. Please continue to keep me in your prayers, and please pray from my team and squad. God bless and see you in 11 months 🙂
