don’t get too comfortable

Photos by: Isabella Gutierezz

So I got a new beanie the other day. Let me just say; it is the perfect beanie. I always find that beanies never fit my head correctly and they always make my head itchy. This beanie is exactly the opposite; it is perfectly fitted to my head and it is probably one of the softest things I have ever owned. Needless to say, this is a pretty comfortable beanie and I would seriously wear it everyday if I could. Unfortunately it’s just not reasonable to wear a beanie when its ninety degrees outside in July, I much as I want to prance around in it!

 

I think we are like this in our faith. We want to stay in place where we are most comfortable and avoid the unknown. No matter what season God puts us in, we don’t want to change; we just want to be with people and in places we are familiar with. We sit with our fears and insecurities because we are too afraid to try to change them. A fear that I’ve developed over the last couple of years is flying for an extended period of time, especially over ocean. Believe me when I tell you I’ve been out of the country many times and have had my fair share of flights, so this fear doesn’t make any sense to me. Overtime, this concept took hold of me and made me feel trapped and immobile. At the same time this fear was pressing my thoughts, I was praying for a mission trip. I had the privilege of going to Rwanda when I was seven years old and ever since then I’ve wanted to do more mission work, but the timing never felt right. When I was praying about my mission trip, I prayed and prayed for a country that was just a short flight away with minimal over-ocean time, because anything else would be too much for me to handle, too uncomfortable.

 

At the beginning of the school year my church announced three mission trips that the High School Ministry would be embarking on. Just to my luck, two of them fit my prayers perfectly. The third one was Rwanda; the country that first stirred my heart. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Rwanda is a small country in Africa that takes 24 hours of travel to reach ( yup, mostly over ocean!! ). I wish I could tell you why, but within a few weeks my deposit was down and my journey to Rwanda began. I didn’t think about it, I just did it. I figured the enormous pull on my heart was telling enough that I needed to go.

 

Rwanda is out of my comfort zone. It honestly is pushing against all of my biggest fears and anxieties: long flights, long flights over ocean, shots, swallowing pills, missing two weeks of my junior year of high school, not being able to perform in my school’s winter plays ( oh hey I’m a theatre kid if you didn’t know haha ), meeting new people, and traveling into a place of unknown. I had every reason to choose one of the other trips; but I didn’t. The Lord so evidently spoke to me and said “Go. This is what you’ve been waiting for.” And I one hundred percent believe I’m going to Rwanda for a reason and I’m going at the right time and with the right people. I know this to be truth, because I believe it when the Bible tells us that where God guides he provides.

 

I’ve never been more exciting to see what God is going to in my life. All I had to do was step out of my comfort zone. Comfortable for me would have been South America, but the Lord said Africa. The same thing goes for talking to the new kid at school. Comfortable is sitting and chatting with your friends, when the Lord is saying to be with them and invite them to join you. Comfortable is sitting low and silently, when the Lord is saying speak up my beloved. Comfortable is not tying out for the team because you are afraid of what people would think of you, but the Lord says their opinions don’t matter, only his does, and your performance won’t change how much he loves you. Comfortability is evident in our lives everyday in many different ways and forms, it’s nearly impossible to avoid. Today, I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and watch the Lord transform your heart. God works wonders in the unknown and it’s usually the most fearful things that end up being the most remarkable. Take off your beanie amd let your chains fall to the floor and leap into the world that so desperately needs you!

Thank you Pine Desigin Co for making this post possible //

|dress: urban outfitters | shoes: vans | beanie: pine design co | denim: I honestly grabbed it from my sister’s closet |