Thursday night of camp this past summer, the course of what I thought my life would look like changed completely, thank God! You may ask what caused my life to take a completely different path, and the answer would be a simple “yes”. For the first time in my life I said yes to whatever the Lord would have for me. I say whatever, because I had absolutely no clue what “it” would be. All I knew sitting in that auditorium as I heard the pastor speak on how the Lord calls some people to ministry full time, was that He was calling me. Honestly, I wrestled with it. “No, you’ve got your life planned out. You’re going to be an accountant remember? You’re gonna make a nice life for yourself, you’ve always been good with numbers, accounting is it.” My thoughts tried to overpower me, but after what I think was the fifth “last call” to make my way down to the altar full of teens putting their “yes” on the table, the Lord lifted me out of my chair and carried me down the aisle to join them. Confused, but overwhelmed that God would choose to use me, I laid my yes at His feet.
Seventeen years old, going into my Senior year of high school, knowing nothing about my future other than that the Lord has called me into ministry, I began to seek after Him with my full heart. I became dissatisfied with anything other than Him, and asked God to reveal himself as well as His plan for my life. I began to think about the passions that I’ve been given, how I have a heart for children, especially those whom the world may consider “the least of these”, and the thought that maybe ministry for me would look like missions, specifically foreign missions, entered my mind. The thought of this terrified me, but does God ever call us to stay in our comfort zone?
In my family, college had ALWAYS been the plan after high school, and younger me would tell you that of course I’d go straight there. However, senior year was in full swing before I had decided to apply to ANY colleges. Honestly, I felt absolutely no urgency to do so at all. Maybe this was just me procrastinating, as I do with everything, or maybe the Lord was teaching me a few things.
Patience. Rest.
Finally, I agreed to apply for college, and by “apply for college” I mean apply for A college. One. Singular, lol. Mind you, I’m already WAY late in doing this. I got accepted and followed up with a campus tour. It was nice, a Christian environment, but I wasn’t sold on it. Maybe because I had been looking into this thing called The World Race. Although at this time it was more a fantasy than anything, I couldn’t seem to say yes to anything else. Something about this CRAZY 9 month mission trip across the world to three different continents with other young adults all pursuing the Lord and desiring to make disciples couldn’t slip my mind.
So, I prayed about it, merely with the thought that, if nothing else, this nine month mission would be a good indication as to whether or not foreign missions was for me.
I think this is it.
I applied, and kept praying.
I had my phone interview, and kept praying.
I was accepted, and by this point I truly felt that this is what the Lord had for me for the next almost year following high school.
Look at that, once again my plans are different than God’s plans for me. I was supposed to go straight to college, remember?
Even after God answered me I kept praying asking for signs, as if His Word spoken over me isn’t enough, right? But like always, He shows up. The Lord confirmed what He had already spoken over me and made it so crystal clear to me that The World Race is what He was calling me to.
But that doesn’t make it any less crazy. I am in no way qualified to live this kind of life, but thank Jesus that He qualifies the called, not the other way around!
This September, I will be leaving the states to go on a journey to Thailand, India, and Costa Rica to spread the Good News and be the hands and feet of Jesus, and I couldn’t be more excited!!! For the next nine months, the world will be my classroom, and my homework will be sharing the Gospel. I don’t know that I would want it any other way.
Thank you so much for reading, and for supporting me as I go to love like Christ loves, and see lives changed because of Him. Stick around to be a part of the most terrifying, yet what I believe will be the most fulfilling, season of my life yet.
With love,
Megan
