I'm Letting Go

We are preparing a team of about 15 high school kids for summer missions in Memphis. This will be our second year in Memphis and it will be the 2nd trip for about half of the team. I am really excited about this trip. Planning and preparing for the mission trip has become a passion of my since we visited Memphis last spring.

This year, I created a devotional guide for our students. For the eight weeks of preparation, they had a devotion to read each day and a writing prompt to journal about. I was very blessed to have help from my dear friend Lauren Parnell who is a missionary, as well as, a couple of my family members who participate in missions regularly. I also found a great website of devotions that helped. I did write a few of them myself. The last few that I wrote were about songs that had sparked my thoughts about missions. This one in particular, I wanted to share:

I'm Letting Go

Read:
Recently, I heard a new artist that I have fallen in love with. Francesca Battistelli is releasing her album this month. (I can’t wait to get it!) After hearing her radio single, I decided to take a listen and I bought the EP. It is great! The current radio single is I’m Letting Go. Here are the lyrics...
My heart beats, standing on the edge. But my feet have finally left the ledge. Like an acrobat, there's no turning back.
I'm letting go of the life I planned for me and my dreams. Losing control of my destiny. Feels like I'm falling and that's what it's like to believe. So I'm letting go.
This is a giant leap of faith. Trusting and trying to embrace the fear of the unknown, beyond my comfort zone.
Giving in to your gravity. Knowing You are holding me I'm not afraid.
Feels like I'm falling and that's what it's like to believe. Feels like I'm falling and this is the life for me.
So you are asking what this has to do with missions. Well, I am going to tell you. Last year in Memphis I learned a lot. One of the huge things that I learned is that God will use us and bless us if we will simply let go and step out of our comfort zone. It was scary to go into a new place that isn’t necessarily considered safe. It was scary to walk into the nursing home to visit with residents (way out of my comfort zone). It was hard to think that we would spend all of this time preparing and that kids might not pay attention and that we may not have a single kid accept Christ. I was worried about kids complaining about sleeping on the floor of a school and having to share very little bathroom space. What I learned was that when I let go of those things and just did what God had put in front of me, He took care of the rest. Not only did He take care of it, He changed our lives. He changed my perspective on missions as well. It was never in my plans to be involved in missions. Now, God has given me a new passion for missions and community outreach. I can’t wait to see where this new passion takes me... So I’m letting go!

Write:
I hope that you are prepared to let go! Of course, I don’t know what God is going to do for you on this mission trip, but I do know that you will be changed. You will be pushed out of your comfort zone. You are going to have to leave your plans behind and let Him have control. Are you ready to let go? Are you ready to take this giant leap of faith? Are you ready to give up control of your destiny? You know, you really aren’t in control anyway! Trust me, when you let go you will say...this is the life for me!

Pray for us and our students. I am so excited about this!!!