In The Beginning (December, 21, 2009)
God has been preparing me for “such a time as this” for some time now. What a journey it has been and worth every second of it. In May of this year, God told me to expect something great to happen in the up coming months….I wasn’t really sure what He meant by that. I mean, so many wonderful and life changing things have happen over the past 7 months–which one was He referring to? To recap the past months, I was working with World Relief in June and also went to pottery camp in Wisconsin. July was filled with work and relaxing. August brought school and a knee injury that led to surgery in October, September meant the anniversary of my birth and a close call for my Dad….you get the picture. A lot of little things mixed in with a few major things created a prime atmosphere for God to really go to work in my life. I like to think that “the great thing” He was talking about is the Youth Group, but I really think it is all of the events of the past semester and summer. So many lessons, so many people and have come together to allow me so experience God’s grace and perfect will in a more vivid way than ever.
The theme of the semester for me was surrender and humility. In July, I had an ear infection that took me out for a couple of days—no big thing, but I realized how much I take being able to hear for granted. After the long drive to Wisconsin, it seemed that my car began to fall apart. One thing that fell out was the air conditioner…in the middle of summer…in humid Denton. Don’t take your car for granted or your air conditioner. Then came the fateful day that my knee popped while I was playing soccer. Been there. Done that and have the screws in my knee to prove it. I had ACL surgery when I was thirteen and that’s all I could think about. Well, it was just a torn meniscus, but it still took me out of most physical activity. This was a devastation for me. You see, I like to run–a lot. Running is my release. It’s what I do when I am frustrated or happy, tired or energized. It’s how I stay in shape, and make myself feel better after eating too much cheese cake. Running was my quick fix and God took that away from me for a while. Ouch. The last piece of the puzzle, or you could say, “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was a high blood pressure scare with my Dad that put him in the hospital for several days.
Through all of this God was reminding me that nothing is mine and I don’t deserve anything. My Dads ordeal was the clincher. He is MY Dad! No, God says, I get to borrow him. He is not mine and, my time with him can be over in a heart beat. God chose to bless me with a wonderful father. God chose to show His love for me through the love of my Dad. I am so thankful for him and thankful for the time God gives me with Him. I remember realizing this in a worship service and I just broke down. People and the relationships we have are blessings and opportunities to share God’s love. They are not ours and we must surrender them to God. We deserve nothing. Our life is not our own.
Surrender. that is what He wants from me. He has wanted it for a while, and now I have surrendered. God presented the opportunity at Memorial Baptist Church for me to put into action what He has been teaching me the past 7 months (and beyond). I am excited and honored that God chose me to do this. I am not worthy, nor do I feel equipped, but I believe God will provide and He will be glorified. My confidence is in the Lord.
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