Inspired...

So, last week I had the pleasure of being able to meet up with one of my fellow Mercy Shippers. She will be boarding the ship this week and then I will meet up with her in August. Yay! God has been so good to me throughout this whole process. It was weird, at first when I was trying to decide if God really wanted me to do this I was SOOO nervous and I thought of all the reasons why it was stupid for me to go (family, friends, job, house, etc) but I still had this inkling to go. Finally, once I decided to let go of all my worries and take that leap of faith God gave me peace and comfort about my decision to serve with Mercy Ships.
Anyway, so as I was saying, I met up with my friend and it was great talking with her and hearing all of the training that she did and also about the people that we will be working on the ship with. It was so refreshing to hear the passion and heart that that we had in common for doing missions work. A couple days ago I was able to spend some time with the Ryan/Couture family. As I talked with them about this upcoming trip my 2nd mother, Sharon, stated that she could never do what I am doing. I laughed to myself and then said “but I could never do what you do.” She is a teacher and is unbelievable at what she does and has a passion for shaping the hearts and minds of our youth. Later I thought about this and made me realize once again how omnipotent God is in shaping each and everyone of us for his purpose and according to his design.

Today as I sat in church I noticed a teenage boy in the front row was waving at various people that were sitting around the church. He quickly caught my attention and as I watched on I saw the old scar lines and the rigidity in his arms and hands and instantly knew that this was the boy that the church had been praying about over the past year due to a traumatic head injury during a high school football practice. Being in the medical profession you slowly get to know and form a bond with many of your patients and their families. Head traumas can be some of the most difficult injuries because the person that you once knew will most likely not be that same person when they get ‘better’. But as I watched him and his family it amazed me when I realized that through everything they have been through they had this unshakable faith. At the end of the service the worship team played a song that talked about how “we are weak” but that “God is our strength.” As I sang these words this boy lifted his arms up in the air to praise God for being his strength. I quickly had to stop singing to stop the tears from rolling down my face. I silently prayed at that moment for God to continue to work in this family’s life and also to work in my life so that my strength came only from God.
Recently I have been faced with a lot of situations at work that really make you think a lot about life. Over and over again I have thought about the many different tragedies, illnesses, and heartaches that happen in this world and the one thing that always comforts me is knowing that I am not in control. This concept may seem a little bizarre but when you think about all the things that go on in our lives and the lives of those around us it is comforting to know that we don’t have to worry about those things because God is in control of EVERYTHING!
As I continue to plan for this trip God is continuing to work in my life and showing me that I need to give him control and let him be my strength. This passage comes to mind as I wrap up, Psalm 37: 4-5 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart, commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and he will do this."
(sorry so long.. a lot on my mind.. xoxo)

phew...

Alright so I know God has a purpose and plan for everything so I have to tell you this amazing but kind of freaky story. Well at least it was for me. So last week I had a random Tuesday off, so I decided to go home and see my parents in the morning and then during the day drive around and visit some people I haven’t seen in a long time.
I visited the Sullivan’s (Julie's family whom I’ve known since I was about 11 and who have been officially marked as my "emergency contact person" for all my legal documents), the Nelsons (Billy's best friend Jon, who also passed away, but who have taken a very special place in me and my family's hearts), the Russo's (who also helped my family and I through Billy's death and who also taught me all about the wonderful world of camping), the Bishop's (who personally have been a constant in my life through alot of my ups and downs), Jess (my college dormie and fellow 7th floor angel), and then last but not least my Aunt Patty and Uncle Bob (two people who have continued to encourage me and support me through all my life's journeys).


Anyway so Tuesday, as you read, I was quite the busy bee, stopping by and catching with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in quite awhile. So the next morning I woke up and left for work at around 6am. Drove my car over to the T station and went to work over at MGH. On this particular day work was pretty crazy busy and I finally left around 4p. Once I returned to my car I ran through the many things I had to do before I met up with my Tuesday night girls for Bible study. I slowly pulled out of the T station and on to the main road and as I waited patiently to turn left to drive toward the highway I suddenly felt a drop form my left front tire. "Ugh", I thought, "Oh well, thank God for triple A". I called and told them my situation and said that it was just a flat but that I was blocking a very busy road. So since I was sitting in the middle of a three lane mini highway I decided to not get out of my car but to wait until the tow truck came. About 30 minutes later, after many inappropriate gestures by fellow drivers, a tow truck arrived. He backed up his truck as if to tow my car so I exited my car to explain to him I only needed my tire changed. As I got out, I saw that my car needed more than just a tire change. My front left tire had snapped off of the axel and was now laying horizontally on the ground. At first I stayed calm and the cop asked me if I had anyone I could call. I immediately thought of my friend Katie P; no answer. Hmm then I thought of Jessie; hmm no answer. And then I called roommate Rudy who thankfully picked up and he agreed to meet me at the T so we could take the bus together.
I thanked the cop and in a dazed fog, walked toward the T. My mind started racing and I thought of all the "what ifs" that could have happened during this situation. "What if I'd been driving even 20 mph never mind 60mph?" "What happens if a car was driving fast behind me?" " What if this had happened yesterday as I was driving around the state meeting up with friends?" " What if this was 4 months later and I had given this car to my friend Caiti and she was hurt because of a random incident like this?" I frantically called my mom, no answer, and then my dad, no answer (as you can see i was having little luck with getting a hold of people). So once again I decided to try my mom and ended up leaving an incomprehensible message to her on her voicemail. As I was leaving the message, she called in obliviously asking, "What's up?" I then began to sob loudly trying to spit out what had happened. After I stopped hyperventilating and was able to speak somewhat coherent English again, my mom calmed me down and said "but Becca you are okay."

As I drove home on the T that day I realized again how in control God is of our lives at all times. I am definitely a person that over thinks and overanalyzes everything, and this scenario is a prime example of how sovereign our God truly is. So many times I ask God why things are the way they are or why he lets bad things happen to innocent children and people. But then I realize that we should be thankful for what we do have cause we don’t even deserve what we are given. We all should be living each day out fully for his glory and if our time is up that "Amen and Welcome Home!"

God is good all the time.