Twenty-two was the best birthday yet! It was a day that marked the end of the old and the beginning of the new. It was filled with bittersweet goodbyes and excitement with all thats to come. But more than anything, it was slam full of blessings from Abba!
It began this morning by learning that I have been beyond blessed by my team Lion Seekers. Over the past four months these 6 women have gotten to know me so well and that really showed as they surprised me with all of my favorite things. The first surprise was an hour massage, followed by lunch at New Orleans cafe, and then coffee and dessert at a local coffee shop while doing our last bible study together!
They know that I love physical touch which is what made the massage perfect, they know that anything involving New Orleans reminds me of the great plans God has for my future, they know that coffee and chocolate are my favorite, and they know how much I love spending time discussing The Word with them. They went as far as making me close my eyes walking down the streets of Kathmandu so I could be surprised, and kidnapping my bible and journal so they could surprise me with bible study.
As if that's not enough, God decided to bless me even more by allowing me to have a one on one talk with my awesome Squad Mama. She encouraged me, challenged me, and spoke profound truth in my life.
Jesus didn't stop there though! As I was coming downstairs into the lobby to blog about my great day this Nepalese man comes up to me and two other squad mates and starts a conversation with the question, "what's your tattoo say?" It was the tattoo on my foot from Psalm 119:105, so I quoted it to him. He just kind of stood there and then I asked if he liked tattoos, his response was, "No because things change and tattoos are permanent." I praised Jesus for the open door and then responded with, "that's why I get scripture because scripture is eternal; its from God himself." We continued the conversation and throughout the whole time I just felt God telling me he was hungry. Not hungry for food, but hungry for truth. Along with my squad mates we had the privilege to share the gospel with him. And then he told us he doesn't tell people but he has cancer in his lungs and it just spread to his brain. I then asked him if he shared that because he wanted us to pray to Jesus for him. He said sure. So we laid hands on him and prayed. He said afterwards he felt peace and then we were able to explain that true peace is found in Jesus alone. It was an incredible conversation that started over my tattoo. Even crazier thing, he wasn't even staying at this hotel; he walked in, talked to us and then left. Only Jesus!
For those that may question why I get tattoos, my answer is this: God uses my tattoos to draw people to himself. All of my tattoos point to the glory of the Father and that to me is worth it.
Today was a sweet day of looking back at 21 and saying thank you Jesus. It was a day of looking back and seeing his faithfulness, his sovereignty, and his goodness. He has taught me so much this past year, and especially these past four months on the race.
But after 4 months teams have begun to become comfortable, and as we know all too well, we are naturally more dependent on God when were uncomfortable. So, to avoid getting stagnant our squad is now experiencing team changes. It will be hard, but most times the situations that are tough produce the most growth.
Another change that occurred on my birthday was that the leadership asked me to step up to be a team leader. For the first time since training camp, I have peace about leading. I will be posting a more in depth blog soon explaining how this season of leading will be different than any other position of leadership I have held and how God called me and gave me peace about this position. For now all I can say is that I am honored to start 22 by learning to serve my new team.
Saying goodbye to 21 was bittersweet, but I am looking to the future in hopeful expectation that 22 is going to be the best year yet. It's going to be tough, it's going to be exciting, it's going to hurt, and I'm going to make mistakes. But what I know is that every step of the way Abba is going to be there with his abounding love and grace.
My prayer for 22 comes from Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." I want 22 to be a year that I learn to serve more like Christ, by putting others first even when its hard.
I would challenge you today by saying this, without 21 there would be no 22, obviously. But more than that, if I hadn't had bought in to what God had for me last year, I wouldn't be prepared for this year. And if I don't buy in this year, I wont be where I need to be at 23. I encourage you to see each day as preparation for the next. God has lessons to teach you today, no matter how painful, that will bless you tomorrow.
