Monday, January 31, 2011

The Beginning

A few days ago I had one of the most amazing days that I can recall for quite some time.

It was Wednesday, January 26. The second reasonable snow of the season had just hit the middle Tennessee area and I was debating what the day would bring. Let me take a moment to give a very small brief of what I have been thinking about for quite some time. . .

For at least two years I have highly been considering going to Africa for missions. This concept has really evolved from also considering the Peace Corps. I have been interested in this since 2006. Probably every six to eight months I look to see what is available and consider the possibilities. Over time my heart has been heavily laden with  these possibilities.

I have struggled with whether this has been something that I WANT to do or something that is part of God's WILL for me. Most people will just say to "pray about it." My problem with this is that I am such a tangible person. If people suggested that I email God to ask his advice, I could handle that if He would respond. I felt that I wanted or needed a clear answer or at least a hint of a clear answer. Should I just go? Would that be reasonable? If I decided to pursue Africa or the Peace Corps, will God make either decision part of His will? Am I just completely off track and I need to find a way to complete a college degree?

I came to the conclusion that I just need to put it in His hands as much as possible. There is not going to be a way to make either one of those paths happen instantaneously. So, if it is not where I need to be then God will put up road blocks. Along with this, I felt that it be important to also put more faith and trust the small things to God. If I can trust God for the small things, then my trust will already be there for the bigger things. This brings us back to Wednesday morning. . . . .

I woke up slightly before 5am. I started to have a debate with myself about school. Why does it have to either be a 2 hour delay or 4 hour delay? If we went at 10 or 12 I would have to go for 20 min of a class. It would be silly and I definitely had no desire for that. Why couldn't there be such a thing as a 3 hour delay? About 10 minutes later my phone rings and the school is delayed for 3 hours; it will open at 11am. That's just the beginning. I had also been thinking that I wanted to got and help scoop the lot at work. I wouldn't have been able to do this unless we had at least a 3 hour delay for school. This was a great way to start the day.


Later school was canceled for the entire day which allowed me to get some great quality time with my roommate that we really needed.

Three more very specific things happened that just blew my mind. One came in the form of music. While at work the radio was playing. As I was helping a customer I caught myself humming along to the song. Once I paused I realized it was a song by Casting Crowns. . .  . . "Sing Until the Whole World Hears". To me that was just a little message from God. As many times as I have heard this song, it suddenly was louder to me than ever before.

So now I will actively be persuing a way to serve and "sing until the whole world hears". This may start as a mission trip later this year. This may mean joining the Peace Corps. I do know that it means things will change.


This is only the beginning. . .