Wow! This past week was quite the whirlwind. I learned everything from the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts all the way to international health insurance. In just 7 days I grew in ways I didn’t know I needed, and I can only imagine how I will grow over the next 11 months. The Lord was so good to me throughout this whole week, and I only fell more in love with him.
One of the best moments of the week was our last night and I was able to be rebaptized! In that moment I was filled with joy and love that only Jesus can supply. Any anxiety or fear I had about the next 11 months were wiped away and only excitement was left. I am so grateful to Hannah (one of my amazing squad leaders) who baptized me. She is amazing and I can’t wait to get to know her better in the coming months.
Another amazing moment during this week was the hike up Yonah Mountain. While I have hiked, I would not consider myself a hiker and I thought I could handle this hike no problem. Well, I was wrong. I think I was bringing in a lot of ego to this hike not truly preparing myself for it while also wearing my 25ish pound pack. God used this hike to humble me and realize that I cannot rely on just my strength alone. I needed to find my strength in the Lord but, I also needed to ask my team for help. They were all amazing and encouraging throughout the entire hike and I know I could not have finished it without them. I know I have always struggled with asking for help even as a young child (you could read old notes from my 1st grade teacher saying that). But, after all of the encouragement and finally reaching the top, I was proud at what we all had accomplished together and, it was an amazing view from the top.
Overall, it is basically impossible to summarize what all I went through physically, emotionally, and spiritually over the past week but, what I do know is that the Lord is working in all of us to prepare us for the next 11 months and beyond. The Lord will never be done working on my heart and I would never ask him to stop. After this week I only want to dive even deeper with the Lord and I can’t wait to experience this journey with this squad!
Katie, so glad that you are excited about the upcoming 11 months. More excited that you want to go deeper in Him. You will. You are! For me the theme of this blog is about obedience and openness to learning from God. Great example for us all!