Thursday, February 17, 2005

"For I know the plans I have for you..."

I've been doing some reflecting today. It's a really cool thing to look back on the past year and see how God has been working. Sometimes when we follow a path God sets out for us, we don't understand why we're traveling down the road we are on. But it's always such a beautiful thing to look back at where you've tread and get a glimpse at how God has been working in your life..

In the spring last year, God told me I had to trust Him with school. It turned out, that by the time July came, I received a very clear answer from Him that I had to take this year off of school. It was the biggest leap of faith I had ever taken, and was scared. I only had one year left of my Child and Youth Worker Program at Centennial...so it confused a lot of people that I would take the year off. But I knew that without a shadow of a doubt, that this was what God needed me to do for this year.

Also in the spring, within the same conversation with God that he told me I needed to trust Him with school...He told me I needed to trust him with my finances. Previous to this conversation, I thought that I was doing really well, and had given everything that I could over to the trust of the Lord. But then He stopped me in my tracks and said..nope..school and finances...I want them.

In regards to money...there was a few things that happened, but one of them was that he told me to save 15% of my earnings over the summer. I had no idea what they were for...Until September. My dad started talking about the Mission Trip He would be going on in the new year. He had gone with this mission Team the last four years, and was enthusiastically looking forward to the fifth trip. I had never had the time, money, or interest to go on a mission, including the ones my dad went on every year. But something was different this time. I had the time off from school, I had the money already saved up in my savings account...and God put the desire in me.

So, the rest is pretty obvious I think. I went on the mission trip to Jamaica. And now, it's really cool to look back and realize how these plans all came together. I know there are lots of reasons that I took this year off of school...some I may never know. But if for nothing else, I got to go on the mission to Jamaica. And due to that fact...it's actually affected how I'm looking at September. I was unsure of if I would be going back to school to complete my Child and Youth Worker degree. But since the trip...the desire is there. There are things that I believe God is putting in motion for me that I require this schooling for. Now...there is always the possibility I won't get back into my program. If that happens..well..I won't fret. I was just meant to get a start on my plans a little sooner is all.

I think my two week trip has really impacted my perspective in a whole variety of ways. It's shown me how to cherish and be thankful for all that I have, for I am truly blessed. It's shown me how little and unimportant some things are that we North Americans tend to make into huge issues, and waste our time and energy debating about. It's given me an appreciation for what the Salvation Army is doing overseas, and how beautifully they are doing God's work. But I think it's also open my eyes and mind to what God might use me for. A passion was started in me, while in Kingston, for those kids in Jamaica. I had never before contemplated that I might be used outside of Canada, nor did I have the desire for it. But...a new perspective has begun to form. It could fall to nothing, but it also may be a whole new path for my life that God is putting into motion. Should be interesting either way...

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