His Grace is Sufficient

It feels surreal to even write this blog because in the last two months, my entire life has changed. It feels surreal because on June 30, 200 people showed up and almost $7000 was raised at A Night for Kenya. It feels surreal because one month after this, a team of 7 people went to Kenya on Alabaster Mobile Clinic's first medical trip and 1400 people were impacted.

It feels surreal because a vision that was unearthed 7 years ago, came to fruition.

There are actually no words to express how unbelievable the above statement is. I don't fully believe even still that the last two months were real. I have to look at photographs every day to convince myself.

Every day I pray and all I can say is: Praise You God. It feels like too small a phrase when I think about all God has done and how all His promises were actually FULFILLED. That was in fact the theme of this year.

I have been trying to fully describe all that I learned and experienced in A Night for Kenya and Alabaster's trip to Kenya. It's a daunting task because in a matter of months, 7 years of prayer, dreaming, love, doubting, fears, sadness, joy culminated.

So here's my attempt. What I learned is this:

God's grace is sufficient in our weakness. GRACE. GRACE. GRACE.

It is by God's grace that 200 people showed up and gave so generously at a concert that was planned and put together in less than 2 months.

It is by God's grace that all 7 team members of Alabaster arrived safely in Kenya and arrived safely back home.

It is by God's grace that my mother was able to meet and spend time with her sponsor child, Seiyo.

It is by God's grace that 1400 people were given malaria medications, typhoid vaccines, dewormed, educated on health, or reassured about their health.

It is by God's grace that in the midst of a literal jungle - lions, scorpions, bats, audacious crickets, no running water, no electricity, no sanitation, no sleeping arrangements, our team remained protected, sane, and even joyful.

It is by God's grace that we made long-lasting partnerships that will shift the trajectory of an entire region.

GRACE.

See, changing the world, making a difference, creating a "dent" in the world, all of these happen in only one way:

GRACE.

God doesn't need us. He can end poverty, disease, injustice with one swift stroke. But by His GRACE He desires to use broken, ordinary, messed up people to carry out His amazing and beautiful will and purpose.

By His grace, His power and miracles interact with our weakness and create light, love, mercy...Shalom.

I felt weak 100% of the time in Kenya. But I praise God for that because in my weakness, God was glorified. I was not equipped in my humanity to do any of God's work. I'm at my core, a scared, needy, weak, inexperienced, young girl who lucked out because God chose me.

God chose me by His grace. Not because I have what it takes.

I learned the meaning of resting in His grace. Not just resting, but surviving on it, relying on it, being so desperate for it that it became the air I breathed.

So my little piece of wisdom to you is this:

We are and always will be defined by His grace.

Nothing we do or experience is deserved. Nothing is earned. You don't earn the ability to interact with people like those in the Maasai tribe and learn firsthand the resilience and love it takes to live a fulfilled life in abject poverty. You don't earn the ability to lead a team of incredible healthcare professionals who know 10 x more than you do and yet trust you with their lives. You don't earn amazing friends who will traverse the world with you and support you even when they have to go to the bathroom in thorny, scorpion-infested bushes. You don't earn having an incredible team of loved ones - family, church family, friends who sacrifice time, money, skill, and life to get behind your dream and vision.

It is only by God's grace.

I wear it now as a cloak. His grace is my armor. His grace is my breath.

I know nothing else but His grace.

This will be my final blog entry on this site.

You can find me here:

 http://hisgracemyweakness.blogspot.com/

The next chapter of my life begins.