Faithfulness

Can I just tell yall that I’m in such awe of how the Lord is working in the lives of those around me and in my own life?!! I wish I could put into words how joyful the Lord makes me everyday and words to describe the love He submerses in everyday!

“You have my heart and I am Yours forever. How beautiful is Your unfailing love.”

I love that I can just pick up the phone or skype to chat with people I haven’t seen in about 3-4 months and pick up where we left off. Even though we’re all home and busy with school, leading, and life, when we talk it’s like we haven’t skipped a beat. We’re still able to share with each other all the things that the Lord is doing in our lives after camp, we’re still able to encourage each other, and we’re still able to pour into each other lives even though we don’t see each other everyday. I LOVE that!! I’m also lovin’ the fact that I can keep up with people by reading their blogs :)

To fill yall in on what’s been going on in my life:

…A few weeks after my friends and I all got back to school, my friend Katie told me that she didn’t really want to hear about camp or YL. She felt like I didn’t really want to be at school and like I wasn’t really her friend. She told me that she felt that way because most of the pictures in my room are from camp and all my statuses were about missing camp and the friends I made there. Yeah, I talked about camp and YL/College Life a lot, but YL & camp has been a HUGE part of my life since my freshman year of high school. I met the Lord at Lake Champion the summer after my freshman year and have had so many great experiences as a camper as well as on Work Crew and Summer Staff. I don’t know how to not talk about it. I left the conversation with Katie feeling extremely discouraged. I felt like I had to hide who I am in the Lord from her.

A few days later, I was at dinner with Katie and she told me she stumbled across my blog. I was so excited to hear this because I had been writing about all the things the Lord did in my life over Summer Staff, how He was blessing me after camp, and all the things He was teaching me. The only comment she made about my blog was that it was “uhh… interesting…”. As if the first conversation with her didn’t discourage me enough. I was feeling lonelier than ever and the situation only made me miss Summer Staff even more. I didn’t have the fellowship that I needed so desperately during this whole situation.

A few days after all of this went down, I was asked to join the College Life leadership team. At first I was unsure of whether or not I should join because of what Katie and the rest of my friends would think. In my moment of doubt, the Lord reassured me that my identity is not found in my friends, it’s found in Him. I knew the Lord had opened a door and a great opportunity to reach out to my friends by being asked to join, but honestly, the thought of being a leader for people my age scared me to death. After seeking the Lord and listening to His voice, I knew what I needed to do so I joined the leadership team.

I’ve been amazed at how the Lord is working in my life and how He’s been using me to reach out to my friends. He’s given me a boldness I’ve never had before. Ever since the situation with my friend Katie, I have been praying for her like a maniac. Praying that the Lord would keep tugging at her heart (because whether she knows it or not, the Lord has been working in her life) and praying that she’d come out to Club. About 2 weeks ago, Katie and I were coming back from lunch and as we pulled onto campus she told me that she wanted to start going to church again and wanted to come out to Club. Hard circumstances and all the brokenness in her life pushed her away from the Lord. She told me that she had been watching me and really wanted to come out to College Life because of me. I was SO excited to hear this! It was a good thing we were having Club a few days later and so I invited her out.

Last Wednesday night, the night we were having our last Club before Fall Break, rolled around and in walked Katie! I was filled with so many emotions; happy, nervous, joyful, etc. I was excited because she finally came out and I was beyond nervous at the same time. As I watched her enter the room, I could tell she was not sure what to expect and could tell she felt a little out of place. I watched her as Club started. She was smiling and singing along to the songs we were singing, she laughed during the skits, and her eyes & ears were fixed on my co-leader, Andrew, as he was giving the talk that night. After Club, and as we were walking out the door, Katie told me what a great time she had and how she wants to go on Fall Retreat!! WOW. The Lord is amazing!!!!

I would’ve never imagined being a Young Life College leader in a million years because I was so stuck on being a WyldLife or Young Life leader, but the Lord placed me where He wants me. Being able to do campus ministry is SO great. I’m in awe of the Lord’s faithfulness, love, grace, joy, and goodness. With God all things are possible.