I'm Ready

Recently, I have been tested in a lot of ways. About ten days ago, I joined together with about 4,000 of my, ahem, closest friends (OK maybe only a few of my CLOSEST friends, but still 4000 people) to participate in Go Cincinnati. Basically, a huge day of servant evangelism. We did dirty jobs, we did clean jobs, and we did it to show God's love. Sure, there are more ways, but this was close to my heart. So, we went to the YMCA in Cheviot and tore down a lot of trees. A lot. Then, we piled up the trees and got to use the wood chipper on them. After they were turned into mulch, it was spread on pathways. The area cleared by the trees will be used by the YMCA for their summer camp as an area for kids to eat lunch, do crafts, etc. in the shade. We also built a shed and moved picnic tables in that area to help the YMCA employees more. This particular event was slightly unorganized, very very dirty, and quite laborious work. But I found myself praying for each of the people there, working on their off day, spending it with a bunch of strangers, showing kindness to others. I also prayed for the people who would see the area we cleared, and that they would come to know God in a personal and passionate way. This was something very real for me. We were given a difficult task, and when the "time was up" people started leaving. There was still an enormous pile of trees to be sorted, chipped, and still a lot of clean up to do, yet because it was 1, they were tired, or had other commitments to do, so they left. I struggled with anger toward those people, but a group of us decided we still needed to get the work done. So with only about ten people, we got it all done in about 30 minutes. So much quicker than I would have thought possible. It was so moving to see these people work together toward a common goal.

I also have always one to believe in prayer, but have also relied on myself in too many ways. My pride has always been one of my biggest struggles. Recently, I have been forced to rely solely on God for health, jobs, and basically everything in our lives. This week, we had booger prayed over by some of our visitors from Mamelodi, South Africa. While we pray for him every day, as do a lot of our friends and family, this was a test for us as a family to ask someone we have never met to pray for our child and his health. She asked us what to pray for, and I just let all of it out. Everything we have been struggling with, we gave to Him. And in that moment, we were more of a family unit than we have been in the past year. We are trusting that God will heal booger, because that is our only hope. He is our only hope.

I almost forgot, I have some great news! A friend had to have surgery a few weeks ago to remove some precancerous cells. This was very trying and scary for her, and has really made her think about a lot of things in her life. When the test results came back, she found out that all of the cells that were SO close to cervical cancer have disappeared! What a miracle! We had been praying for her during this entire time, and for her to get this news is no doubt the work of God! And to hear her claim it as such makes my heart leap for joy!