A Buoy on the Water

  This past weekend, my organization held a missionary retreat at a beach house on the Pacific coast. A precious team of individuals came from Canada to minister to us over the course of the weekend. It

Our GORGEOUS retreat site

was the fourth time that this specific team from Canada had come to minister at the retreat, and each of the members of the Canadian team has held a special place in my heart since meeting them four years ago.

  During the first session, the speaker challenged us to go “all in”. He challenged us to consider what it would look like if we went “all in” in every aspect of our lives (including our relationships with God) and to consider any obstacles which may be keeping us from going “all in”. At the end of the session, he challenged us to take a prophetic action to symbolize us going “all in”. He suggested jumping into the pool, or another symbolic act that would serve as a declaration that we were committing to go “all in”. I was undecided as to what action I would take and decided to let the Holy Spirit show me what to do.

 Following the first session, a friend and I walked out to the beach to talk. We shared our hearts, tears, doubts, fears, and plans for the future. As the conversation started drawing towards an end, something caught my eye in the water. Literally riding on top of the waves as if being pushed from behind was a buoy. This buoy was on a direct course towards us. It was being “pushed” at a remarkable speed and was being picked up by each passing wave and heading directly towards us.

The Beach

As I watched the buoy I heard the speaker’s words echo in my mind “will you go “all in”?”. Without missing a beat, I yelled “I’m going in. I’m going “all in”” and I jumped into the water and began to run towards the buoy as it in turn headed towards me. As I ran towards the buoy I realized that there were other missionaries on the beach watching this incident and briefly imagined what they may be thinking. I also considered briefly what would happen if the water got deeper before I reached the buoy (I was wearing regular clothing) but quickly decided that I would swim if needed to reach this buoy (having grown up on the beach swimming is not an issue for me).

Fortunately, swimming was not required all though my shorts definitely showed evidence of going “all in”. I grabbed the buoy and turned to walk out of the water with my “treasure from the sea”. As I walked out of the water, a smile spread on my friend’s face. “I’m not sure what this is all about, “ I said, “but I heard the words “will you go “all in”” and so I did.”

I carried the buoy back to the beach house and retold the story of seeing the buoy and hearing the words that sent me running into the waves. I received various words over what the event symbolized and decided to keep the buoy as a keepsake and a reminder to go “all in”.

If you know me, you know I have the tendency to do “crazy things”. Honestly jumping in the ocean

The Buoy

and chasing down a buoy is not something that most people would have a hard time imagining me doing. However, even I… a usually confident extrovert… did have some doubts in the midst of the stepping out. I thought about what the other missionaries would think/say. I worried about the depth of the water and getting my clothes wet. And honestly… some of the reactions of disbelief/”that’s silly” jabbed at my confidence a slight bit. I did think.. maybe this is just a “crazy thing”…

However, sometimes GOD CALLS US TO DO CRAZY THINGS… He calls us to step out… sometimes making a “fool of ourselves”… sometimes to be critiqued by other believers… to call us to go “all in”.

So, what about you? Are you willing to go “all in”? What would that look like for you? What may be holding you back? Are you concerned about what others may think/say?

Don’t be. Go all in. You won’t regret it.

…and maybe you’ll even get a funky buoy to put on a shelf to remind you of the crazy adventure that God has you on.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I appreciate having you on this journey with me.

-Meaghen

Who Am I... REALLY??

Who Am I… REALLY??

At Source of Hope we have four “I AM” statements that we use as teaching points during our class times and devotional times throughout the week. They are “I am clean”, “I am chosen”, “I am a child of God”, and “I am powerful”.  Each student at the school has a copy of these statements on a set of

The four "I AM" Statement cards

laminated cards that many of them wear on a lanyard around their necks. Honestly, sometimes we feel a little odd repeating the same values week after week and we find ourselves wondering if the students are actually “getting it”.

This Wednesday as we were preparing for our weekly discipleship group with the 7^th-9^th graders, Juanita, a third-grade student, walked into the missionary office.  Juanita often pops in to “help” us set up for devotional times or just to hang out after school for a bit. Like many of our students Juanita comes from a difficult family situation and she has faced numerous obstacles in her short life. A few years ago, Juanita’s father was murdered, and her mother abandoned her when the burden of raising her and her siblings became too great. Juanita came to the village to live with her aunt and started attending Source of Hope.

Playing Games during
Discipleship Groups

As Juanita was “helping” us prepare for the discipleship group, I explained to her that we were going to be talking about our identities, and more specifically our true identities (who God says we are). So, I asked Juanita… What is your true identity? Who are you REALLY? Without missing a beat, Juanita started rattling off the four “I AM” statements and telling me that she is a child of God, she is clean, she is powerful, and that she is chosen. Hearing those declarations coming from her mouth made me stop in my tracks.. and made me realize…

YES. THEY ARE GETTING IT. Despite all that she’s been through, she KNOWS WHO SHE REALLY IS. Despite all the other “identities” she could assume… abandoned, rejected, unwanted… she knows that her Heavenly Father loves her with an unconditional love and will NEVER reject her. He’s revealing His heart to them.

Susana is currently in 8^th grade at Source of Hope. Susana’s father abandoned her and her mother shortly after Susana was born because Susana was not born a male. Her father wanted a son, not a daughter. Growing up, Susana has struggled with feelings of worthlessness and her identity. She blamed herself and thought of herself as a mistake. However, Susana tells us that today she KNOWS that she is NOT a mistake. She KNOWS that she is a chosen child of God and that God has a plan for her life. Susana wants to graduate and study to become an attorney. Susana says she wants to help fight for children’s rights. She wants fathers to be involved in their children’s lives, and she feels that her experience with her own father will help her relate to others in similar situations.

Two Precious Daughters of the King

Often times, like Juanita and Susana we let ourselves be identified by our family situations, a painful past, what others say or have said about us, our jobs, our educational levels, or many things that are often outside of our own control. However, our TRUE identities lie in WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE…. He says that we are His children, we are loved, our pasts are forgiven, we have purpose, we are not mistakes, and that we have a future. Let us cling to that identity despite what the other voices may say. Let us remember our TRUE IDENTITIES and who we REALLY ARE.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I hope it ministers to your heart, as it ministers to mine as I write it. Thank you for being with me on this journey.