This is 24

It's hard to believe that I am entering into my 24th year of life. 24 trips around the sun. 24 years of living and breathing all by the grace of God. I am nowhere near where I thought I would be at 24, and so grateful to be where I am - grateful that the Lord does not make decisions based on my own plans for myself. I do not know where I would be or the person I would be if it was up to me! And thankfully it's not up to me, but up to Him!

To celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime achievement (I mean, you only turn 24 once, right?), here's 3 things I learned in the last year of life overseas, as a young adult, and in the hands of the Creator:

1. You have permission to dream!

"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

This was actually the most recent one that I have been pondering and praying about. When I was recently talking with one of our directors about plans for the upcoming sports camp this summer, he mentioned that there is space to dream. Later, in conversation with others about what I feel called to do in ministry and in prayer, I came to this conclusion that I have the permission to dream! Not that I need a physical permission slip signed by someone else that says I can dream, but hearing someone say it sometimes can open up that door in the mind and heart. Being the people-pleasing person I am, I tend to learn how things are and then be just alright living within that box. But now, I am thinking of what it would look like to think and live outside of that box. What if the box could grow larger than it is right now? What if that box was shaped differently than a normal box? What if the desires and dreams that the Lord is putting on my heart could be so much greater as they play out than what I am imagining right now?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the mustard seed. Have you ever seen one? It is so tiny that you have to really look at it, really examine it to know that it was there. It would be so easy to walk right by it without ever seeing it or giving it a thought. It is actually the smallest of all seeds, but when planted, it grows into a large shrub and later into a tree. With this mustard seed sized faith and the passions/dreams He has placed in my heart, real work for the kingdom can be done!

I think this is something that we all need to hear! Especially the young adults of the world that are fresh out of college, just getting started in their careers, and wondering what else is out there. Wondering how God will use them. Wondering what their purpose is. Wondering where their talents and gifts can be used. I am right there with you, and in case you didn't already receive it: I am giving YOU the permission you seek to dream. Dream for your future, for your family, for your work, for ministry, for the Kingdom.

2. God is my friend!

"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15

Life overseas can be really lonely sometimes. And although I might live in a country that seems to be jam-packed full of people and cars and motorcycles (seriously, so many motorcycles) and i think to myself that there cannot possibly be more space on this island for more people, even then I can feel very lonely. When there are many other expats who live in the province I live in, even then I can feel very lonely. When teammates and friends decide to move back to the US and I remain, even then I can feel very lonely. I like to think of every human as having a bucket inside them. When we feel happy, satisfied, useful, or encouraged, that bucket is full. Sometimes overflowing! Just like how that internal bucket becomes full, I am sure that you can imagine when and why that bucket may be empty other times.

However, the one and only person that sustains me is the Lord. And learning to see Him as my friend and Father is something that I have to keep learning day-to-day. Jesus calls me his friend. He laid down his life for me, like it says in John 15:13. He has shown me the truest of loves, and I can call Him friend.

3. There's joy in the ordinary.

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refresehd the hearts of the Lord's people" Philemon 1:7

When I think of things that are exciting and invigorating, I automatically jump to that which is out of the normal. Like an adventure to see a waterfall or riding the teleférico (cable cars) in the next city over. But when I think of the things in my life where I find joy, it's always in the ordinary. In the smiles I see on children's faces at school. In the moments when I am kneeling in front of a crying child and talking them through the situation to calm their emotions. When I am on my daily morning drive to work and catch eye contact with someone on the side of the road and begin to wonder who they are and what their story is. There's joy in the hours of sitting around chatting with people so different from me but also so similar. There's joy in the simple act of having a divine purpose and feeling fully drained, from all the energy put toward that, yet fully full at the end of the day. In these 24 years of life, I have found that the joy I long for is found in the day-to-day. Excursions and new experiences are fun, but the ordinary of where He has placed me - that comes with enough joy to fill my bucket and overflow.

This is 24! Hooray!