Unfinished
About four years ago, I made the decision to volunteer with teenagers at my church ranging in age from 12-18. To be honest, I’m not sure how I got into that specific ministry. Let’s be real. Working with babies would have been quite a bit easier since they a) can’t talk back and b) don’t ask super hard questions. I think one of my biggest challenges was the fact that most of these kids needed an extended period of time to warm up, to trust, and to test and see that we, as their leaders, were “normal.” They wanted to know they could rely on us. They wanted to know they could trust us with both their dreams and their fears. And as we all know, trust isn’t built in one weekend. In fact, it often took months of commitment to one student for them to get to a place where they were comfortable to share with us. I mean, I would love to tell you every teen I ever worked with came to see God’s love and made a decision to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives. Don’t get me wrong – many of them did, but not everyone. Students came and went and eventually, God called me away from the teenagers to another area within the church. As I stepped away, it felt as though this was a chapter of life that was unfinished… and that’s probably because it was: entirely unfinished.
This morning, approximately four years later, I received this text from a parent of one of those teens, “Thank you Kristina for sowing into my teens! Last night, they were baptized to reflect what God is currently doing in their lives.” My eyes welled with tears. I shared this overwhelming moment of gratitude with God and He whispered, “You don’t always understand what I’m doing when you’re living in the moment, but later, I will help you to understand.” {John 13:7} In just one moment, He reminded me that those countless moments spent investing in teenagers were worth every second. He reminded me that we are simply His vessels. I made a simple choice to start volunteering, but He was (and is!) the one doing the work and that work He’s doing is far from finished. We often have no idea the impact we have on people, an organization, a family, or even eternity, but we can rest in knowing when we surrender to God, He will use us.
This forced me to reflect on my life right now. How often do I feel discouraged because I cannot see the end in sight? Or the results I want to see? Or the dreams come to pass that I have in mind? How often do I question my choices because I don’t have the instant gratification of seeing the end from the beginning? What about you? How often do you ask similar questions throughout the day? I decided to make a list of things that have helped me in the past to use on a rainy day and thought I’d share with you:
- You’re doing better than you think you are. We are our own worst critic. Speak positively about yourself even when it’s self-talk! *If you’re not able to speak positively, phone a friend. I guarantee you they will point out the beauty in you and your situation.
- Just because we don’t see our end goal right now does not mean God is not working behind the scenes to make it pass. Keep going. I don’t know what it looks like for you in this season, but keep changing those diapers. Keep telling your 12 month old to say please what seems like 400 times a day. Keep waking up at 5am to get a workout in. Keep serving your husband. Keep using patience with your boss instead of sarcasm. Keep believing that the best is yet to come because it is!
- The most memorable mountains in life are not those that we climb in a day. The memorable mountains are the ones that took weeks, months, and even years to reach. If you feel like the climb is taking longer than usual, I can assure you that the blessing on the other side is bigger than you could ever imagine.
God’s work is unfinished. Until the day He returns, He is still using us as His vessels to change the world and build His Kingdom. So just… keep going. And every so often, you’ll get one of my favorite gifts from God: the reminder that He’s still working, that He’s using our lives, and that He’s not finished with us yet.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9