from 'I' to 'we' in a way I never expected

because it's been just me for so long, I've been very aware of how often I've been saying 'we' this week. It used to be, 'I will be there' or 'I can do that' and has quickly become 'we will leave in...' 'we can do that'. I'd always imagined the 'we' looking much different though.

you're in your upper twenties, you didn't get married when all of your friends did so certainly you will by now and that's where your 'we' will begin. isn't it crazy how that is just the way that we think? it's even something that i've dreamed about for myself but fortunately (for God's plan), we aren't all exactly alike.

in this story, my 'I' became 'we' with receiving a distressed phone call and an immediate desire to help. 

a young girl who was a part of a ministry that I help lead was in immediate need of a home.

I have a home.

with zero training or preparation, proving this is something that only God can orchestrate, I am suddenly a foster mom to a 13-year-old girl.

there are so many questions that remain unanswered but if there is one thing I've learned - God doesn't ask us to care for the poor and needy, He demands it and demanding doesn't leave much room for me to ask questions or to worry about my needs or how I will be inconvenienced. it's about love, always about love.

so that's the story of how 'I' became 'we' and there's a real, live, God who gets the glory for it.

rappelling

my first decent

second time down - practically a pro (ya right)

i'm freeeeee free fallin'

thankfully not really.

with a major amount of cheering and encouragement, i rappelled my first cliff yesterday. it was a crazy awesome experience.

we took the UMA leaders out to "raven's roost" on the blue ridge parkway, a very popular spot for outdoor climbing and rappelling  our hope is to be able to take the kids out sometime soon but i didn't feel quite right encouraging them to do it until i'd done it myself!

i'm so thankful i had the opportunity to go with people with whom i've built a trust - i hope the kids will feel the same way.


i love adventure but this silly little thing called 'fear' keeps wanting to get in the way. fear and trust are major topics that we talk with our kids about. not only do us leaders all have a passion for the outdoors and adventure, but we love how vividly they parallel the believer's walk with God. trust is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult. learning to trust these things that we can see (i.e. harness, rope, people) can help our hearts to learn to better trust our God, especially when we are afraid. 

when i got to the bottom i practiced climbing a little bit but really need to work on those skills! i repelled a second time and even braved an extremely quick glance at the ground, 80 feet below me.

i saw a harness on sale this morning and actually almost bought it but talked myself out of that craziness. praying that lessons learned from this experience will stick with us all and the Lord would use them to bless others with the gift of trusting in him.

amazing friends