Catch Up to My Last Day in MD

Slowly,  I'm beginning to realize what I have signed up to do.  However, when I say two months, for some reason I just cannot wrap my head around the time frame.  Sometimes I say it and I imagine it being the duration of a week, other times I say it and I feel like I've signed up for an entire year. & then I start to wonder, why am I trying to understand any of this?!  I mean the Bible tells me exactly why I cannot wrap my head around the length of time; because this entire trip was orchestrated by God and to Him time is irrelevant. 

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8

 Last night (Wednesday) was my last youth service at church and God just kept speaking to me and showing me so many neat things.  For one, I was still wrestling with the reality that Cody is not here.  I will not run into him at Wawa, I won't get ridiculous comments from him on facebook, I won't see him. And of course his viewing is tomorrow night (Friday) and I will already be in Atlanta with no possible way of being there to say a final goodbye and no way of comforting others.  As I was thinking about this the Lord spoke scripture through Pastor Seth saying, "Leave the dead to bury the dead, follow me." Done.  I refuse to be a half-hearted, lukewarm, follower of Christ.  Cody is not there, his body will return to the dust man was made from and his soul is gone into eternity. I will follow the Lord into the mission field of Swaziland and as I am there I can pray for every single person that is mourning back here at home.
After the sermon I was again seated in front of the crowd (though this time it was the youth) and I was surrounded by the friends/family I have made in the past year at Pleasant View.  When Seth said, "any of Casie's close friends, feel free to come up and lay hands on her as we pray," I did not expect to be surrounded by so many people.  I was shocked.  For each of those people I would do the same for them but it was still so encouraging to see that there was so much mutual love surrounding me.  Some of them I have literally only been friends with for maybe 2 months and seeing them cry was tough.  In such a short time God has created a friendship that would take some people years to establish, I am blessed!  I am encouraged by the people who stood around me and are supporting me back at home while I set off to do God's will.  Knowing that they have my back will keep me moving when times get tough.  When life in Swaziland gets rough and I think I've had enough, I will look back on that night, smile and be empowered to continue on because all of those people believe in me.

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."  Proverbs 27:17

And today has been... crazy.  My last day in Maryland before I head off to training camp and I still have to run to the grocery store in the morning before I leave for the airport.  I'm a hot mess when it comes to packing for long trips. I cannot focus long enough to get each suitcase packed and I'm not a big fan of lists (thanks to Andrew I've adapted to the lifestyle of  "winging it").  I really did try to have all of this done at the beginning of the week, I just failed. Oh well, I don't mind.
I had my last Wawa coffee with my daddy this morning.  I enjoyed being with him this morning and having the chance to just talk to him.  Our schedules are so different that we don't get to spend much time together so every little bit really does count!  Since the week he brought me home from college we have been having once a week dinners that have worked out really well and I'm really grateful that he took the initiative to set them up each week. Tonight he grilled by favorite... BBQ RIBS!! nom nom nom. He also invited my grandparents over.  We all sat around the dinner table together and my dad asked me to pray for the food. He said, "say a real prayer," meaning not the "God is great, God is good...." He wanted to hear me pray and though it really put me on the spot,  I could not say no.
As my daddy and I talked about my trip tonight, he felt compelled to tell me about his religious views and his faith.  I told him that he did not need to justify his lack of church attendance to me but he stopped me and told me that he wanted to share with me.  Thinking about that conversation alone is enough to bring me to tears.  My dad wants to get back into going to church!! I wish that he had told me earlier so that we could go together and I could introduce him to all of the amazing people that God has put in my life at Pleasant View, but I know that God has a plan for my daddy.
When I left his house tonight to come back to my moms it was tough to let him go.  I know it is not goodbye forever.  And honestly, I've probably gone just about two months being at school and not talking to my dad.  Africa just makes the whole thing completely different. He has to let go of one of his babies and trust that God is going to take care of me.  For someone who hasn't heard the truth of the Bible recently I can imagine how hard it would be to let a child go half way across the world.  But there is where the beauty lies.  All he has to do is pick up his Bible and pray and the Lord will reassure him of my safety.  I am not as crazy as my daddy thinks I am.  I am just doing what God calls all of us to do.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:19-20

The great commission was not given for us to wait around and let someone else fulfill.  The great commission isn't even going to fulfill itself.  We are Christians need to pick up our crosses and GO. We are all called to share the Good News.  I realized this and allowed God to take control.  And now I know that all it take is an ordinary person and God will use them for extraordinary things.