Or rather 21 days in the life so far…

Some crazy things have happened in the 3 long/short weeks that I’ve been here.  

Everything has been part of a process of learning to look to God at all times.  

Within the first few days of being here, a streak of seemingly unending rain started here in Georgia.  I had a soggy tent floor, soggy clothes, and after a few days, a soggy spirit if I’m being honest.  I set my alarm for 6:30 every day to go on a run and every day I turned it off because it was raining.  At the time, I was disappointed to not be outside, but I eventually refocused on the blessing that sleep was.  I got the most consecutive days of 8 hours of sleep that I’ve gotten in years.  I was able to realize that God was using the rain to refresh me.  

Being introduced to a squad of 38 people that I’m about to live with for 9 months has also brought some expected challenges.  The task of trying to make friends and connections is a process and everyone’s trying to speed it up because we all want to be comfortable in this space.  I’m also an introvert so a crowd of people that I don’t know is draining at times.  However, through these moments, I have been able to recognize that I wouldn’t change this squad for the world.  One night, I was talking to some of my squad-mates before heading to our tents (a little past curfew…) and as I climbed into my tent I was struck with the reality of how much I appreciate and care for these people after only knowing them for 3 weeks.  God knows what He’s doing and he hand crafted this squad so beautifully.  

The teachings that we have twice a day haven’t been easy either.  It might be news to some, but God is not just in the business of making life easy and comfortable.  Some lessons have been challenging, some controversial, some confusing, and some comforting.  Along with about everything in between.  We’ve had many debriefs working through hard topics within our squad and God is present very evidently.  God is clearly working in the lives of everyone on my squad in tailored ways and it’s incredible to witness His power as He moves.