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The Me-Do Girl

First words create first impressions.  As a wee babe, I would love to say that my first words to the world consisted of a sweet “Love you” or a family-centered mindset of “Mama” or “Dada”.  Nope, it was, “Me-Do”.  And so, my first impression was set and defined for years to come.  If all the world’s a stage, let me do it by myself!  


Here I was, a fiercely independent, self-reliant, and confident...baby.  I was a totteling oxymoron.  Let ME feed myself, let ME dress myself, and let ME brush my teeth, turned into let ME fix it, let ME be in charge, and let ME control it.  Let me do it, and we’ll all be happier for it.  Watch out world!

God took many years of refining in my life, to whittle down the Me-Do into Him-Do.  I needed to surrender the need to take the bull by the horns, and hand it over to the real bull-fighter.  In fact, I did that again, a few months ago, and it changed my life.  

A few short months ago, I had my life completely figured out (insert: rolled eyes).  After graduation, you are supposed to decide what you are going to do with your life, so the Me-Do jumped at the chance, and I began shifting through plans.  I had spent the last five years of college investing into the school system in Greeley and making valuable connections, so I decided to bloom where I was planted and sink my roots into Northern Colorado.  My plan was to work at a prestigious Arts Magnet school where I did my student teaching, begin moving up in society as a young adult, and eventually meet that special “one” who would revolutionize my life (uh-huh).  That was my plan.  Against all odds, I didn’t get the job I was promised.  They had led me on, and let me down.  When I finally heard back from the job, I was out of choices.  I had turned down all other job opportunities for this one, and the hiring season was basically over.  I was out of choices, and I was devastated.  The Me-Do plan let me down.  

The day I got the phone call about the job, I called my mom in tears, and said “Mom, I don’t have any more dreams.  I know God is doing something, but I don’t know what it is.”  Little did I know, that is exactly where God wanted me.  I needed to come to a place where my dreams and plans no longer sufficed, so that God could give me His dreams.  Long story short, a few days later, the idea of international missionary teaching popped up, and the rest is history.  Doors began opening as fast as they had previously been shut.  Only God could work that fast and furiously.

Today, I am headed to Chiang Mai, Thailand to be a missionary, a worker in God’s Kingdom.  It’s been my heart, ever since I responded to a missionary call at a student life conference in high school.  With knees knocking together, I somehow made it to the front of the convention center, and proclaimed that I was dedicating my life to God’s work.  In all the Me-Do plans, I had just forgotten that defining moment.  But, God didn’t forget.  

Now, here I am, at the threshold of possibly one of the biggest adventures of my life, and I am still tempted to give a Me-Do outburst.  Now that He has given me this vision and opportunity, it is tempting to take it all into my hands, and make it happen myself.  Good thing that God is patient.  The fact is, I can’t do this by myself.  This is an unpaid missionary support position, so I have to raise up a team to believe in and support my ministry there.  I can’t step out of this country without a village of people sending me there.  And, no matter how passionate I am about God’s calling, I can’t stir people’s hearts to partner with me.  Only God can.  Talk about the Me-Do having to simmer on the back burner.  But, really, I would have it no other way.

Everyday that I let the Me-Do die, I am more and more astonished to see just what kind of plans are involved in the Him-Do.  Between me and God, I thought that I was the only one who loved adventure and doing big things.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  In every way, my plans pale in comparison to His.  As I redefine those first Me-Do words, I am making the words of St. Augustine the mantra of my journey: “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; to seek Him, the greatest adventure; to find Him, the greatest human achievement!”

For more information about this Thai Adventure, visit my website at: www.sparkling4myking.weebly.com

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