Small Victories

"I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart" 

Psalm 9:1

There are a few small victories that have happened this week that I couldn't help by write about it. God has answered some prayers for me, one of which has been two years in the making. To say I'm in complete awe of these answered prayers would be an understatement. I'm happy dancing, singing, jumping, you name it, it's happening on the inside right now! 

About a week ago I found out that my co-leader from youth group accepted an internship which is sadly taking her away for awhile next semester. When she first told me, I was a little nervous, as this year has been slightly challenging for me. I used to lead a group of 6 girls, and I'm now leading 24 at Gracepoint and some weeks can be a little overwhelming. With that big of group, two leaders are better than one. But I also realized after a talk with the youth pastor, that despite what I think, even the distracting nights tend to be a growing time for some of the girls. That in itself gave me the confidence to go into next semester with no fear, but instead excitement of what's to come. And I know that while she's gone, my co-leader is going to rock her internship and be a phone call away should I need her advice.

Through our conversation her and I also talked about housing and how she's needing a place to come back to hoping to avoid a dorm fee which, lets be honest, is ridiculously high priced. Knowing that I had an extra room open, and knowing that we'd really be helping one another out, I took a chance and offered my open room for her to come back to once her internship ended. This has been a prayer of mine to find someone to fill that room even if for a short while and I was hoping and believing that one day God would answer that prayer. Well, come that Sunday morning, we sat together during the service and talked about it a little more, and decided to go for it! It may have taken two years, but God knew EXACTLY who needed a place to stay and who that person was going to be. I'm am completely blown away, and very excited about it. I can't help but be thankful and extra smiley this week as I know it will be a good time and Myla will love the extra attention too! 

Last Wednesday as well as tonight, was yet another victory and this one I'm definitely happy dancing about! I've always had a heart for those that tend to sit in a corner and just take things in. I was one of those students as well, and it took until my Freshman year of college and my roommate moving out the day after move-in day to realize that I need to break my fear of meeting new people and just do it. We have a couple girls from another school in our small group and each week though they were asked questions, you could visibly tell that they were terrified to talk. These last two weeks though, they've participated with no fear and even shared the excitement of making the Varsity Basketball team as 8th graders, that's quite an accomplishment! Tonight was even better, and though a majority of our girls were a little stir crazy and not having it for small group talk, the ones that participated the most were the girls that I've been praying over all year to break out of their shells and have fun, and that's exactly what they did tonight. So instead of my usual "did this even go well" questioning to myself, this one small victory totally overpowered that thought tonight. God is moving in these girls, and it's an honor to be a small part of their lives. So tonight I'm celebrating small victories, jumping for joy, and ready for the next surprise! 

Moving On

I've been trying to find the words to write for a long time. So many things have happened these past two years yet so much goodness has come from it! So now it's time to dust off the past and rewrite a new story, a story about reigning in life and putting the past behind me!

About a year and a half ago I almost gave up on my faith. I was beat down by the world around me and was hurt by comments made from two pastors who I looked up to the most. The truth was, I was a mess. I was struggling with the rebuilding at our church, I was struggling with being the only person out of my group of friends who was left in Brookings, I was struggling with family members health problems, and I still struggle with where to go next with my career. I ended up in such a deep hole that I walked away from church for awhile.  

Within that dark period of my life, I was looking at Gracepoint Wesleyan as it had been a church I wanted to attend for a long time. I had gone a couple times while in college and really enjoyed it, but the size of the church terrified me. So I decided to sign up for a small group knowing that I needed to make a change and fast. I went one week, and was instantly turned off because the small group turned into 40 people, and it scared me away! But God knew what I needed, and even though I didn't stick with the group, He pushed me to continue reading our small group book. The book was called Unglued by Lysa Terkurst and boy did her words hit me straight to the core! I loved that book so much that I started to look for more of her books, I ended up finding Lysa's book Uninvited which at the time was exactly what I needed to read because it was literally my life in a small span of 200 pages.  This past spring I again started to look at more growth groups, I found a care group called "Darkness to Light". In that group I learned that I could use what I was struggling with for the good and that I am not alone in this world because I have God on my side and He will never let go, even on the days where I'm not so loveable.

Fast forward to the present, I faced my fears and started going to Gracepoint full time in April. Two  months later I joined the First Impressions team where I get to brew delicious coffee on Sunday mornings and help with community events which Gracepoint puts on! I'm also a youth leader at GSM where I get to lead a great group of 8th grade ladies and share many laughs and stories with them! These past few months at Gracepoint have truly been a gift from God. This church family took me in as I was, and has completely changed my heart and mind. I'm loved, accepted, and finding new friends, and my fellow youth leaders have been an amazing addition to my life. I'm thankful for all of them and grateful for the encouragement they've given me along this new journey!

God knew where I needed to be all along and I can finally close the door from the past and look forward to what's to come. I will forever be grateful for my time at Abundant Life, I made many friends and learned so much along the way. I believe everything at AL happened for a reason, and I have no right to hold a grudge anymore, but instead I need to forgive and move on. Here's to new beginnings, new stories, and new memories. Praise God for that!