One Mission Trip. One Spoken Sentence. One Changed Perspective.
I want to introduce you to a side of Caroline you may have never met.
Others say....
She is kind.
She is thoughtful.
She is caring.
She is intentional.
She is forgiving.
She tells herself....
I am judgemental.
I am mean.
I am at fault.
I am to blame.
I am unforgivable.
You see, she struggles with self-doubt. She worries that SHE is the reason a friend is grouchy; SHE is the reason the text didn't get a response; SHE is the reason that person curtly acknowledged her. Then she spends far too much time wondering what SHE had done to upset her friends and acquaintances. And no matter how much she apologizes for this, she feels unforgiven.
So fast forward to spring break. Mission trip. New friends. New experiences. And new fears-- meeting her group, she was struck by how KIND they were, how together they seemed, how filled with Jesus they were...all in sharp contrast to how she felt about herself. She was worried that she would come across as her mean self, a bully, someone who causes divisiveness.
So she prayed about it. She journaled about it. Her simple journal entry... "Please Lord, make me a better person, give me strength to serve, and forgive me for all the times I hurt others."
It ends with: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[ neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Want to read it the whole chapter? So worth it.... Romans 8)
Jenna THOUGHT that God was speaking forgiveness to her, but at that moment, amidst paint and brushes, God placed it on Jenna's heart to speak those words to Caroline. And those words reshaped her perspective.
Caroline summed it up like this....
"Every time things were going well, I just waited for God to let something bad happen. I actually forgot that Satan is real, and that he attacks us in all different ways. Being reminded of the unyielding love and forgiveness of Jesus helped me to see that the doubt, the fears-- that's Satan, sneaking in. Every time I feel closer to God, the devil just attacks harder."
Caroline learned something valuable on that mission trip...God WILL speak to you through others, His words will heal and strengthen, and God is very much active in our lives every day. We just sometimes need to sit back and listen for His voice-- a voice that will drown out the efforts of Satan.
A voice that speaks straight to our heart, often through people God places straight into our paths.
Caroline, I pray that you continue to feel loved by a God whose love is unending and limitless, that you can fully know that forgiveness is complete. Like your leader said, God doesn't just forgive and forget- He chooses to forget, and see you as His perfect creation.
I pray that you share Jesus loudly with others, that they too will begin to know how amazing and alive God is in our lives every day, whether we are at work, at home, at school or even on a mission trip.
One final note- studying back on campus, Caroline was listening to praise music. Randomly choosing a song, this one came up. Random? Nah. God knew what He was doing here.
Matthew West: Day One (youtube link)
Yep, she will still wonder if that friend is mad or if she let anyone down...but now she knows that is Satan sneaking himself in, and she can be armed to fight off the dark one with the words of the one who is the Light of the World.
xox,
K-
P.S. Thank, Jenna. May God continue to use you to spread His love to all those who need it.
Others say....
She is kind.
She is thoughtful.
She is caring.
She is intentional.
She is forgiving.
She tells herself....
I am judgemental.
I am mean.
I am at fault.
I am to blame.
I am unforgivable.
You see, she struggles with self-doubt. She worries that SHE is the reason a friend is grouchy; SHE is the reason the text didn't get a response; SHE is the reason that person curtly acknowledged her. Then she spends far too much time wondering what SHE had done to upset her friends and acquaintances. And no matter how much she apologizes for this, she feels unforgiven.
So fast forward to spring break. Mission trip. New friends. New experiences. And new fears-- meeting her group, she was struck by how KIND they were, how together they seemed, how filled with Jesus they were...all in sharp contrast to how she felt about herself. She was worried that she would come across as her mean self, a bully, someone who causes divisiveness.
So she prayed about it. She journaled about it. Her simple journal entry... "Please Lord, make me a better person, give me strength to serve, and forgive me for all the times I hurt others."
Now somewhere in Mississippi, paint cans needed cleaning, and because God is so good, Caroline and Jenna were chosen to scrub this mess. These two are new friends, with no history before this. Taking a break to pick paint off their nails, Jenna looked up at Caroline and said,
"I don't know if you need to hear this, but you're forgiven-- fully forgiven."
Oh, God, you are so good.
You see, Jenna didn't read Caroline's journal that morning...she read the Bible. Specifically, Jenna found herself reading Romans 8 that morning. It begins with, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."
It ends with: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[ neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Want to read it the whole chapter? So worth it.... Romans 8)
Jenna THOUGHT that God was speaking forgiveness to her, but at that moment, amidst paint and brushes, God placed it on Jenna's heart to speak those words to Caroline. And those words reshaped her perspective.
Caroline summed it up like this....
"Every time things were going well, I just waited for God to let something bad happen. I actually forgot that Satan is real, and that he attacks us in all different ways. Being reminded of the unyielding love and forgiveness of Jesus helped me to see that the doubt, the fears-- that's Satan, sneaking in. Every time I feel closer to God, the devil just attacks harder."
Caroline learned something valuable on that mission trip...God WILL speak to you through others, His words will heal and strengthen, and God is very much active in our lives every day. We just sometimes need to sit back and listen for His voice-- a voice that will drown out the efforts of Satan.
A voice that speaks straight to our heart, often through people God places straight into our paths.
Caroline, I pray that you continue to feel loved by a God whose love is unending and limitless, that you can fully know that forgiveness is complete. Like your leader said, God doesn't just forgive and forget- He chooses to forget, and see you as His perfect creation.
I pray that you share Jesus loudly with others, that they too will begin to know how amazing and alive God is in our lives every day, whether we are at work, at home, at school or even on a mission trip.
One final note- studying back on campus, Caroline was listening to praise music. Randomly choosing a song, this one came up. Random? Nah. God knew what He was doing here.
Matthew West: Day One (youtube link)
Yep, she will still wonder if that friend is mad or if she let anyone down...but now she knows that is Satan sneaking himself in, and she can be armed to fight off the dark one with the words of the one who is the Light of the World.
xox,
K-
P.S. Thank, Jenna. May God continue to use you to spread His love to all those who need it.
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