Time Flies!

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1

Another year has slipped through my grasps long before I felt it was time. But it did not leave before first instilling a permanent impression. The impression left upon my life could be from any of a number of things I have experienced this year. God only knows which.

Maybe it was RAD. RAD Ministries touched my life all through the year as I attended their nine-month discipleship training program. January ’07 began course two of RAD in which I traveled with my team all along the East Coast of the U.S. stopping in places such as Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C. to serve in ministries, outreaches, and through prayer. Later in RAD, I set out on my internship as a counselor both in traditional practice and through experiential learning. Working with kids in various schools gave me a better understanding of the world around me here in the United States and taught me more about God’s amazing love for his people. By June ’07 I had graduated RAD expecting that that was the end of my crazy adventure in Georgia.

Maybe it was the friends that imprinted their lives upon my heart. Old friends, new friends, friends far away, friends close at heart, and family—the closest friends of all. All were apart of my summer as I traveled around the U.S. and Honduras visiting with friends and family. I spent my first two days after the RAD graduation traveling back home to Indiana with my family, grandparents, and “second family” the McCulloughs. But we didn’t stop there (not with a new car to drive!). Family trips to “The Creation Museum”, McCormick’s Creek State Park, and Chicago filled the next six weeks before it was time to go to our “other” home in Honduras. I spent just over six weeks in Honduras enjoying the beach, sun, and stars, along with the company of good friends and fellow missionaries. Between watching movies, planning outings and activities, and swimming, I found some time so sit at home and watch a curious little monkey jump and play at the side window. What a way to spend a summer!

After God’s last minute decision for me to return to RAD as an intern and postpone college for a year, I found myself driving from Indiana back to Georgia with my little Sable loaded down with the household necessities. I made the 11 hour trip in two days, staying overnight with friends in Kentucky. I arrived on a Saturday and by Monday, life was in full swing. I took a one week facilitation workshop with an outdoor therapy program called Niyélo. Two days after the workshop finished, the new class of RAD Students had arrived in town. The team spent the first few weeks hiking nearly 60 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I however, only hiked about 20 miles before changing hats to be the caretaker for three of the director’s four kids for a week (soccer mom and all!). I’m sure my life must have been impacted in that week as it was my first time “playing mom” for such a long period of time. I really learned a lot.

Mid October certainly must have left a deep impression on me. Within a matter of weeks, my new life seemed to be taking shape. I had started my new job as a maid and babysitter for several different families and also received word on a small guest house my roommates and I could rent. Soon after, I hydroplaned around a curve and totaled my car, my computer crashed, and I began to wonder if Georgia was really where God wanted me to be. His still quite voiced seemed to be in control of the storm even when my life seemed to be spiraling out of control. But to be sure, all storms pass and if God is present, I have no need to fear. With God at my side, I can continue living this life He has given me.

The past month has been a very much needed rest from the routines of life. I flew to Florida on December 3^rd to meet up with my parents and grandparents for an early Christmas. Of course, we couldn’t go to Florida and not see the sites. We spent one week touring around Sea World and the Disney parks with my grandparents who, of course, love Disney as much as us grandkids! What a wonderful Christmas! After our week was up, we said our goodbyes and I flew with my family back home to Honduras to celebrate Christmas on the beach. I have to admit that it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas when it is 80 degrees outside, but what we lack in snow, we make up in holiday cheer. Needless to say, I have had a wonderful time with family and friends this holiday season and am almost sad to see the time go.

So what could it have been? What about this past year has left such a noticeable mark on me? Experiences? People? Places? Maybe it’s all of the above. Maybe God uses each little event in our lives and each person we come in contact with to shape us in new ways so that we can better reflect His glory. What will this year hold for me? I would love to say “A happy-go-lucky life in Georgia before I start college in the fall,” but the truth is I don’t really know what God has in store for me. My goal though is to let every event shape and mold me into HIS image and less of my fleshly image. I pray the same for each of you. Thank you all for your prayers and support now and in the past year.