Always In A Rush

I don't know about you, but this year has flown by for me. Less than 3 months until 2015...that's crazy! It seems like the days are long, but the years are short. My husband recently reminded me of how important it is to cherish our time and each moment that we are living in instead of rushing from one to the next. It really got me thinking about how I don't always take the time to stop and appreciate where I'm at. I'm always going, going, going and pushing on to the next big thing. When did I stop being satisfied with where I am? When did I stop taking in the day-to-day moments that make up my life? Why am I not cherishing my time instead of wishing it to pass more quickly? These questions fill my mind this morning.

Last week was a particularly rough week for me. A lot of unexpected things happened and I was stuck on the feeling-sorry-for-myself bus. One of those hardships was dealing with a co-worker's death. It was expected, but difficult nonetheless. I (thankfully) haven't had much experience with loved ones passing away and this particular co-worker was someone whom I loved. He was the sweetest man and his passing deeply affected everyone he knew. I went to his memorial service on Thursday evening already down in the dumps about the events of the week. Funny thing was that all my problems immediately seemed insignificant once I walked in the funeral home. Funerals have a way of bringing clarity to situations and reminding us of what's really important. I sat through the service and I felt the overwhelming reminder of how temporary life is and how our time here on earth is quickly fleeting, day-by-day and moment-by-moment.  It occurred to me that I wasn't always as thankful as I should be for the life I've been given. I was too busy rushing around, worrying and doing, to really enjoy living to the fullest. Almost everything in my daily life, all my troubles and quandaries, are so brief. I get so consumed and focused on the little things in my life that I don't appreciate my time as I should and I let it pass without taking it in, without cherishing.

I left the funeral suddenly extremely grateful for my situations and my time. God has given me time that others don't have any more. And I don't always spend it as I should. I rush instead of taking the time to slow down and look around. I wish away time instead of cherishing moments. I complain about imperfections in my life instead of appreciating the things are that going right. I'm already 26 years old, married, and expecting my first child. Time has flown! Most days I realize how much God has blessed me (because He has beyond my wildest dreams), but it's also easy to get caught up rushing through this time period instead of appreciating exactly where I am. At the end of my life, most of the things that consume my mind on a daily basis aren't that important. The things I will remember most will be the moments where I took the time to slow down, put things in perspective, and allowed myself to fully enjoy that moment in time. I don't want to get to the end of this life and finally realize how blessed I was, I want it to be a daily realization. I don't want my vision to get clouded each day by trials and time. I want to see clearly.

So yeah, last week was pretty rough. And yes, it's easy to want to rush through this time period to get to the next (especially when you have a baby on the way!). It's easy to not cherish each moment as it happens, but that's where the joy is. And I want to experience that joy. None of us know exactly how long we have left on this earth, so let's make the most of each day we have been given instead of wishing it was tomorrow. Time doesn't have to be a bad thing, in fact, it can be beautiful.

Mission Trips Part 5 -- Dallas, TX

Thank God it's Friday! This week has actually gone by pretty quickly for me, but nonetheless, I am still very happy that it's Friday. This time around I am writing about my fourth and second to last mission trip experience. If you are getting a bit bored with this little segment then just hang in there because I only have one "mission trip post" left (besides the one I will write about Costa Rica). Speaking of, 1 week from today Josh and I will be on a plane to Central America! :)

 

One of the last things I did before graduating college was go on a mission trip to Dallas, Texas during Spring Break 2011. This trip was definitely different for me because it was the first mission trip I had been on that I wasn't fully excited about. I was going through a rough time in my personal life and had signed up for this trip prior to knowing I may not be in the best mindset for missions. I was hesitant, but I trusted Dallas was where I was meant to be. Going to Texas ended up being really good for me and God truly met me where I was at during that week. He allowed me to reach out to others who were struggling while I was feeling broken myself. He gave me the peace, patience, and strength to joyfully serve on that trip while I was going through a hard time. As much as I was there to help others, God also used the trip to heal me and work in my life. Pretty awesome how He can do both at once.

 

 

Like any other mission trip, there was a lot on the agenda for our week in Dallas. One of my favorite daily activities we did was help out at a day camp for some of the local kids. These kids came from lower income families and knew very little about God. That's where we came in! We had so much fun with those kids and in only a week, I became very attached to my little group. We played games, did crafts, ate snack, danced, sang, and most importantly had Bible story time. I had an awesome group who really wanted to learn more about the Bible, which is always encouraging. I loved spending time with those precious little people and man, did they fill my heart with happiness!

 

 

 

I went with a fun group and we really enjoyed our time in Dallas. We stayed in a little apartment and slept on the floor. It wasn't glamorous, but it made for the perfect home during our stay. Our group cooked together, ate together, had daily devotionals together and we even got to go to a professional basketball game together!

 

 

I experienced one of my least "glamorous" mission trip moments on this trip. A lot of people think mission trips are so clean cut and glossed over based on the pictures they see or what other people tell them upon returning. The reality is that mission trips can also be really dirty and downright nasty! Our group helped clean out some government housing that had been abandoned. These people knew they couldn't pay rent and instead of just moving out, they decided to trash the places first. Just imagine going crazy and destroying your whole house while throwing food, trash, and any other nasty substance you can think of everywhere. We put on our gloves and went to work. It was an experience, but one I am thankful for. Talk about the lesson of humility.

 

We did a few other random things while we were there including helping organize a massive closet. Well, there was more to it than that. Basically, there was an organization that had a lot of donated clothes and we organized them into different sections, so that local people could come in and find what they needed. The clothes were free to the public and it was a really cool ministry. We also helped serve food to high school students and joined a local church that Sunday to aid with their Sunday School classes. It was pretty cool because their children's Sunday School classes actually met at different kid's houses each week. That's what you do when you don't have a big fancy church building like we are used to. The week put a lot of things in perspective for me.

 

 

 

I think this trip taught me that God can always use you, no matter what shape you are in, as long as you are available. He can also heal you and work in your life through the most unexpected circumstances. God is pretty awesome like that! This trip taught me to push back my emotions, so that I could do what God was calling me to. How often do we let our feelings get the best of us and we give up on something we know we should be doing? This trip taught me that God is bigger than my emotions and feelings. He can give me joy through anything and that joy can be spread to others. Joy isn't based on our present circumstances. Joy is something that the Lord gives us that no one and nothing can take away. And that's a gift worth spreading.

 

Mission Trips Part 2 -- Mississippi (Disaster Relief)

Good morning! It's time for another installment of "Mission Trips" documenting my mission trip experiences thus far. This post I am going to share about my first mission trip experience -- going to Mississippi to do disaster relief work.

 

I finally got up the nerve to sign up for a mission trip the summer after my sophomore year of college (summer 2009). It seemed like a great idea at the time. The trip was somewhat local, in Mississippi, and it was only a week long. I thought this would be a perfect starter trip for me! I went with 4 other college students and a great college campus BCM leader. We loaded up the van and set out for our destination. The first few hours were a little stressful because I quickly realized that I had forgotten my cell phone. It wasn't the biggest deal in the world, but being that it was my first mission trip, it would have been nice to communicate with my family while I was away. (Some of the girls let me use their cell phones throughout the trip to call my mom and it was probably a blessing to not have a big distraction like my phone.) I also got really nervous about an hour into the drive. It finally hit me that I was going on my first mission trip, something I had never experienced, with people I hardly knew. Luckily, that anxious feeling faded quickly. The trip ended up being a blast!

 

Our purpose for this particular mission trip was to assist with disaster relief work. We stayed at a little camp with cabins, bathrooms, and an eating area. There were other groups there too and each day the different groups would set out on different disaster relief projects around the area. This particular area of Mississippi was hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina. There was still so much damage in the area that hadn't even been touched 4 years later. Funny enough, we actually got assigned to do most of our work on the property of the camp. We helped shovel, move things around, and clean out spaces. It was definitely not the glamorous part of helping with disaster relief. We were assigned to do the stuff that wouldn't get recognized and that people might not even know about. But that was the beauty of it. Our group learned a lot about humility during that trip. We worked hard during the days and hung out with the different groups at night. I really bonded with all the girls on the trip and they soon became comforting to be around while I was away from home.

 

We also visited New Orleans on our one afternoon off during the trip. It was so much fun! It was my first time in "Nawlins" and I loved it. We toured the city, ate delicious sea food, and went to Café Du Monde for dessert. If you have never been to New Orleans, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful city, the kind where you can just walk the streets and be entertained. I also recommend going to Café Du Monde because the beignets and hot chocolate are out of this world. (Josh and I went there for a night on our honeymoon and I loved it just as much as the first time!)

A random part of this trip was finding a litter of puppies at the camp during our stay. They had no home, so a girl in our group volunteered to take them back with us. Her aunt had a farm for them to live at. We made the 8 hour drive back to Atlanta with these adorable pups in tow. Needless to say, I was in love with them. But it's really funny to think back about how crazy we were and how nice our leader was to allow us to bring them along for the ride.

 

My first mission trip to Mississippi do to disaster relief work was such a great experience for me. It drew me closer to God and allowed me to develop many friendships on the trip. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and was surprise at how easily I adapted. If you have never been on a mission trip, you should totally do it! Some of my fondest memories are experiences I have had and the people I have met on mission trips. You really bond with everyone around you, but most importantly, you learn so much about yourself. It's a great learning experience and a tangible way to deepen your faith.

 

 

 

 

Mission Trips - Part 1

In light of the adventure I am about to go on this summer (on a mission trip to Costa Rica), I thought I would highlight each of the other mission trips I have gone on up until now. I get a lot of questions about the locations and the activities done on the trips, so I am going to take the opportunity to share the details and pictures from each of my mission trip experiences.

I have to start off by saying that I am by no means some mission trip expert. Because of my testimony, you may already know that I didn't even become a Christian until late high school/early college. From there, it took me a few years to settle into my faith before I felt confident enough to go on a mission trip to share the Gospel. Although this is the way I thought it should be handled, I will say that you are never too young in your faith to share it with others and serve others. Once I truly gave my life over to Christ during my sophomore year of college, I felt an immediate tugging on my heart to do missions. I knew it was my duty as a Christian to get out there and share the Good News with others. It was my duty to selflessly serve others and be a light of Christ to them. If I wasn't willing to do this, who would?

I was a part of a wonderful ministry in college called the BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministries) and they really helped shape and form me into a more mature and less intimidated Christian. They offered a program called Summer Missions where students from all the BCM's in Georgia would raise money all year long and at the end of the year, the money would go into a big pot. That money was then used to send any college student that wanted to (there were no restrictions) on a mission trip over the summer. They had summer-long trips and week-long trips. They had trips to different towns within Georgia and trips to different continents. Little did I understand at the time, how much of a blessing and amazing opportunity this was. I went on three trips through this program: Mississippi, Brunswick, and South Korea. All three were great experiences and cost free, which is a big deal for a broke college student. This program provided us with opportunities that we would never have been able to afford otherwise. I also went on two trips through the BCM over two different Spring Breaks: San Diego and Texas.

So there you have it: a summary of my mission experiences thus far. I am going to do this as a series, so that I can go into each trip in detail without making one long, massive post. Hope you enjoy hearing about my experiences on the mission field! I would love to hear about yours! :)