Overwhelmed!

If we are honest with ourselves and others, there are seasons where each of us feels overwhelmed.  For some they are longer and more intense than others, but we all get overwhelmed.  Right now I am overwhelmed.

Blogging can sometimes seem slightly narcissistic to me, but my prayer is not to wave the flag of "Alexandra Gaskins," but share thoughts and scripture that hopefully will challenge and encourage the spirit of others.  Still it seems a little foreign to air emotions on the world wide web.  With that said, here I go.  HA!

Valentine's Day will forever be bitter sweet.  Valentine's Day 2009 was the day my beloved father went to be with the LORD.  I'll spare you the details, but the speed and manner in which he died made it a shocking and painful experience.  Not to mention the physical loss of his presence.  Oh what a sweet day that reunion will be!  In God's grace, the year of his death was the last year of my singleness.  God brought Ron into my life that same year (and by "brought Ron into my life," I mean we started dating; we had been friends for some time prior).  I consider this a great blessing!  Still, with Valentine's Day approaching, the emotional battle wages.  OVERWHELMING!

I've been praying about going back to school.  I'm very excited about the possibility of pursuing some kind of Master's Degree that concentrates on community and economic development.  Calvary Baptist Church, my church family as well as my employer, is laying out a "20:20 vision" that is guiding our next decade.  Mercy Ministry is one of the values that we hope to hold high.  This is extremely exciting to me, especially as much of my role on staff revolves around mercy ministry.  This stated direction, coupled with the book I just read and several community players I've met recently, has contributed to my desire to be better equipped in the area of mercy ministry, hence the desire for my Masters.  As I mentioned, I'm PUMPED about this opportunity, still the process of finding the right school/program, figuring out funding, scheduling, the thought of balancing school with marriage, work, rest, etc.  OVERWHELMING!

I've noticed in life, at least for me, that typically there are "underlying issues" brewing that are unearthed by "presenting issues."  Marriage provides great grounds of proof for this hypothesis.  Your spouse can say or do something relatively harmless, but because of an underlying issue, you burst into tears or become angry or become a hermit or whatever your visceral reaction may be.  Can I get an AMEN??

For me the two reasons stated above are the underlying issues that caused me to feel consciously overwhelmed today.  The presenting issue: I hosted a party today that I had been eagerly anticipating for over a month. It was a "Change Purse" party intended to raise awareness and funds for victims of human trafficking.  The party was officially for Change Purse, but was also intended to get the word out about SOS.  I sent out an evite and had a great response.  About 15 people where supposed to come.  When only 3 people (not including Angela Moran of Change Purse and 4 of the fabulous SOS girls) showed up I had to fight back discouragement.  Bottom line, people didn't come to my party, and I was pouting internally.  I'd like to believe that normally I wouldn't have been so shaken by the small crowd, but as I mentioned earlier, the presenting problem hit nerves with some of my deeper underlying issues.  OVERWHELMED!

But I have to tell you that more than any of the reasons for feeling overwhelmed that I mentioned previously, I was most overwhelmed by God's goodness and encouraged by His Body at the closing of my party.  Let me explain...

Angela Moran and her best friend, Heather Reardon, are both stay at home moms who love purses.  As they became aware of the massive injustice that is human trafficking, they wanted to do something.  They started Change Purse.  In essence they collect used purses and have parties where they sell the purses while sharing about the issue and how people can be involved.  The money they collect through the purse parties are then funneled to Hope House, which is on the frontlines of compassionately caring for domestic human trafficking victims in Jesus name.  WOW!

Morgan (14), McCall (12), Brianna (14), and Meliegha (13) enthusiastically represent SOS.  In essence, these four girls along with several other friends, founded an organization that raises awareness - especially among teens - about the horrors of human trafficking, especially focusing on the international dynamics of this crisis.  It is amazing to hear these girls spit out statistics of the endemic and share what groups are at work in bringing relief.  What's even more amazing is that they see themselves as active players in bringing about justice in this area.  How does a handful of teenagers make a difference in this massive issue?  Similar to Angela, they host events that raise awareness and funds; the funds are given directly to organizations that are on the frontlines.  Faith-based organizations like Project Rescue are among their partners.  I overheard the girls talking with Angela before the party started that their goal is to use each of their remaining three years in high school to raise $30,000 per year, so that by the time they graduate high school they can cover the complete cost of building a Project Rescue home.  Their desire to not only raise the funds, but perhaps even be a part of building the facility.  As in, hammer the nails.  WOW!

I was completely overwhelmed by the presence of these Christian sisters today.  Jesus was so visible in them.  The Holy Spirit spoke directly through them.  I was struck in several ways:
1. It makes sense to use your interests - purses included - to be about God's work.  What are your interests, and how are you using then for God's work?
2. God has purposely placed you in "spheres of influence" that can we used to raise awareness and pool resources for God's work.  Who is in your spheres of influence, and how are you engaging those spheres?
3. Your season of life is insignificant in encouraging or discouraging your involvement in God's work.  Stay at home mom or school age student or whatever season you are in, be encouraged there is a purpose for you.  Do you know what it is, and are you pursuing it?
4. When God's people take seriously their call to be about their Father's business, the world can be a different place.  I was overwhelmed by the thought of every Christian functioning as these ladies function.  The possibility for permeating our city, our country, our world with hope is limitless.  The world would be a different place.  I couldn't help but think of how many Christians are wasting their lives being self-centered and myopic.  Oh that we would see our lives as vehicles for God promotion not self-promotion!

What a glorious day it will be when all things are made new.  Right now we see evidence of brokenness all around us.  My heart was tightly gripped by the horrors of human trafficking.  This world is not as it should be; far from it!  But until all is renewed, let us be about our Father's business! 

This is a sweet OVERWHELMING!