Years ago when life seemed to close in all around me I would curl up in my bed and read my bible. Sometimes the Lord would speak so clearly and profoundly my tears would fall right into the pages. I filled that bible with notes the Lord had spoken straight to my heart and over the last few years I have read those notes and continued to feel God speaking to me through those hard times. Coming on the race I have realized that God is moving me into a new season and I wanted all the seeds that were planted in my heart to be sown into another. Over the last few months I have carried around this bible knowing that the Lord had someone special for me to entrust it too… And then I met a 17 year old girl named Fanny.
Fanny lived in Honduras and lost her father at a very young age. She spent years feeling angry with God while she searched for meaning and truth. Eventually this young woman found the church and felt the love of the body of Christ. Fanny was learning English and had a heart that was thirsty for the Lord. Over the month we shared lots of laughs. I practiced my horrible Spanish and she practiced English. We shared life stories and did ministry together. She wanted to be different from the other teens her age and her inner strength was overwhelming. I knew she was supposed to have my bible and I waited eagerly to give it to her. I enclosed a note explaining how much I had cherished this bible and that I believed in her and wanted her to embrace the journey God had for her. My heart lifted as I gave it to her. She was so thankful her eyes filled with tears. She was awestruck that someone would believe in her enough to do that for her.
As I think back to that moment it was a big highlight of my race experience. I found that the most precious moments I had been a part of was not because I took something away but because I had something to give. I know God is going to continue to use the words I wrote in that bible because it was the Lord who spoke to me and he can also speak to her. I can’t wait to see how Fanny takes off and changes the world with the love of Jesus Christ.
