So here I am writing another post. Where has the time gone?! It has been more than a month. Now who knows if there is anybody besides myself that actually reads these so if you are reading this I would love to know.
The past month has been crazy. I've been gone almost every weekend or just very busy. Last time I wrote I was about to go to SonRise Camp. That weekend was amazing. God showed me so much love through a wonderful lady named Janelle. She has down syndrome and is probably one of the most happiest and excited people I know. It was such a blessing to be able to hang out with her for a weekend and in the end be served by her. I was also able to meet many more wonderful people, make new friends, and create many memories.
Janelle and I
The next weekend I took my best friend's senior pictures. Every time I am able to photograph and edit, it makes my passion for it grow even more! Being able to take her senior photos was an honor and I definitely want to do it for a serious job while going through college and even beyond that. I am truly thankful that God has blessed me with this talent and the love I have for it.
The weekend after that I was in Roach, Missouri serving with my LYF team at our district's fall junior high retreat! It was different this time around because I am one of the oldest members and I had a bit more of a responsibility to lead with my other senior members. It sunk in that my time in high school is almost over and I am becoming an adult and that more responsibility comes with it which makes me excited!
Junior High Retreat
Last weekend I was in Chicago! I rode the train there all by myself. What an adventure that was. Luckily the lady I had to sit with was nice and came in handy later on in the trip. A few hours into the train ride a bunch of fresh-out-of-prison convicts got on board. Two ladies out of the bunch sat right in front of us. The stories I heard. The lady who I was sitting with informed me she majored in criminal justice in college, works at a law firm as a paralegal, and is now getting her masters in International Affairs. I had then felt like I was in good hands. Now back to why I was going to Chicago. I was going to Concordia University for their Careers in Christ weekend. It entailed a college visit, seminars about church work programs, and just to get a feel for the college and students and to see if you want to go there! I had SO much fun and met so many amazing people that I can call my friends now! But in the end I don't want to go to college there and I don't feel like God is calling me there to spend 4 years living and getting an education there. Then again I had an AMAZING time!
After the weekend it hit me that in less than 10 months I will be at college. I started stressing about if I will be able to handle it academically. All the times my mom and dad told me that I am not smart enough and I am too lazy for college, started to sink in. I began to doubt myself. I had began to doubt God. But then I remembered to when God first called me to pursue church work and ministry as a profession. It was during a contemporary service back in the very beginning of my freshman year of high school. Our "substitute" pastor's sermon was based on Matthew 6:24.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
Before that service the thought of going into church work was lingering around in my mind for a while then. After that sermon I knew. I knew that God was calling me to serve him through ministry and that I needed to devote my life to Him by serving Him. I knew at that moment He was telling me it was going to be super hard to do and that there was going to be a lot of obstacles down that road. Boy was he right. I am not even half way there and he has given me many obstacles but in a way that has and is making me a stronger Christian and that has molded me to who I am today.
I remembered back to this moment and to what he was telling me and calling me to do. I remembered how he has blessed me with so many opportunities in my life and people that are with me on this road. I then realized I can do this and that He will be there right along side me, still loving me when I screw up and that no matter what, serving Him is my purpose in life.
I am excited to see what God has for me down the road and I feel prepared knowing that He is always with me.!
xoxo
Madison
