Who Were You Five Years Ago?
(Obviously more than five years ago…)
If you got coffee with yourself from five years ago, what would they think of you now?
I often ask myself that question as I marvel at how God has changed the direction of my life. Well first of all, she wouldn’t be drinking coffee because I used to vehemently hate the taste. Now my college friends know me to be the biggest coffee snob of all!
Five years ago, I was planning on getting married, writing music, and pursuing a life of performing. That is until I lost my joy and passion for music.
It’s one type of mourning when you lose someone dear to you. It’s a different type of bitter when you’ve lost a part of yourself.
God was uprooting idols from my life and working for my good and His glory, even when it didn’t feel like it in the moment. That was when God ordained a chance meeting with Peter Baakelar from Gallery Nani. Next thing I know, I’m the only white person on a plane headed to Japan!
Don’t get me wrong, I still love music, but for a season I had to relinquish that love to God. One speaker put it this way: sometimes God has you walking towards a goal in life so that you move forward. But oftentimes, that movement reveals an altogether better path branching off that wouldn’t have been visible otherwise. In other words, if I hadn’t surrendered my idols to God and allowed Him to work in my life, I never would have been in a position to work in Japan and meet friends all over the world!
I praise God for His divine providence in my life and encourage you to reflect on His faithfulness in yours as well. Where God has placed me now is drastically different from where I would have taken myself five years ago.
My next step forward along this path is to plan and facilitate the Asia Pacific women’s conference in Vietnam this February. I’ll even have the opportunity to stop in Tokyo on my layover to see old friends and network with potential teammates! Thank you for your support thus far; I’m 1/3 of the way fundraised for the trip.
The estimated total cost of this 10 day trip to Vietnam is $3,500. As with previous trips, this amount is subject to vary greatly depending on how soon I can purchase plane tickets. Please prayerfully consider financially partnering with me to aid (and hopefully one day join!) the missionaries in the Asia Pacific region. If you feel led to donate, you can do so via the MTW online portal or by mailing a check to me at 1209 Westbury Rd, Knoxville, TN 37922.
May God continue to work in us, making us even more unrecognizable in five more years,
Rebecca
“The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.”
(Proverbs 16: ESV)