I had a truly amazing weekend at Southwind. Was sort of surreal heading back to this place that means so much to me and my testimony. This is where I surrendered. Right there–that lake.
On the first night we were there, “How He Loves” started playing and I just started laughing. Like. LAUGHING. Because I was so joyful. Because it felt really amazing to reach up to my neck out of habit and fiddle with the cross that lies there while a pendant is sitting on the bottom of the lake nearby.
My girls ended up prompting me to tell my story and thought it was just so cool that they were in the place where it happened. They were genuinely excited and riveted. I was worried they’d want to do so many activities that I’d need to be a part of that I wouldn’t get a chance to slip away and have my moment on the lake in a kayak. As it turns out, I got a pretty awesome group of girls.
“You should go out there today!”
“Yeah, yeah! Get a kayak and go out there!”
“You should try to find your old necklace. That’d be so cool.”
“No way! Her necklace was probably eaten by an animal, like a gator!”
They were all so encouraging and had these really great and in-depth questions about my journey of faith. We had amazingly honest and vulnerable conversations. It’s crazy how much I love them already and can get so excited when I see things clicking for them and experiences shaping them. They’re really cool ladies–I’m incredibly blessed to know them during this time in their lives.
When I was 20 years old I grabbed that kayak and took my journal and a Bible out onto that lake. I wrote about how I never thought I’d be the kind of person that went to a Christian camp. That even owned a Bible, let alone read it and believed it and let it change my life. This weekend I took that same journal and that same Bible out onto that same lake. And now what I can’t believe is that I get the honor and privilege to help turn these sweet girls hearts and minds toward Jesus.
Pretty much just blown away by what He can accomplish with a few years and a lot of faith.
