The past few weeks have been very stressful on me. In all the exciting thoughts of adventuring on a mission trip I neglected to realise all of the things you have to do in preparation, specifically all the things requiring money. I’ve been working as a nanny for the last year making less than I should be with my experience and education, and much less than I could in an office job. While I love my job and have learned more than I thought possible, the monetary benefits barely keep me afloat in everyday living. This has made it hard to pay out of pocket for the necessary trip things like insurance, passport, shots, and surprisingly paper, envelopes, and stamps to send out support letters, etc. While I know I will be reimbursed once my funding is in, most places want their payment before rendering services. Paying for the future without right now cash isn’t easy.
Through all of this I have learned that I shouldn’t keep things to myself. There is a Swedish proverb you all know that says, “shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half sorrow�. (I thought it was in the Bible, but I can’t find it right now so if anyone knows it please let me know.) Once I started talking about all the trouble I was having things seemed to get a little better. My mom asked me what GOD told me to do to get all of my stuff taken care when he called me into this. My only answer was that HE said it would be taken care of and I trust that. Two weeks ago I was starting to think that trusting fully on GOD was not worth it because it was too hard. Now I realise that HIS burden is light because it is meant to be shared. I had forgotten how many people are out there praying for me, which has given me wings the last few months. My Tallahassee family and my family at Temple Terrace United Methodist Church are doubling my joy and smashing my sorrow to smithereens.
Last Sunday at church we had a hymn sing. I have attended 5th Sunday hymn sings my whole life, but this one was different. At one point a man sitting in front of me got up and walked out. The next time I saw him he had grabbed the hands of some friends and they were all standing with held, raised hands at the front of the sanctuary facing the cross. This prompted many of us to grasp hands and raise them up to HIM in unison. This is my reminder that not only is GOD holding my hand in this walk, but HE has placed friends beside me to help too.
Thanks to each of you. GB.
