The Gift of Community

   You may or may not already know this, but I celebrated my 33rd birthday earlier this month. And I am a woman who LOVES to celebrate her birthday! This year my biggest birthday surprise came in the morning….

   My birthday was on a Thursday and every Thursday morning we have worship and Bible study at our house with our New Song foreign staff. This particular morning Cadence told me that she, Diego, and Jeff wanted to go with me to the Abide Home and pray over me and my dream as our morning time. As we approached the house I saw that the place was filled with all of my Chichigalpa loves!

 

   I had no idea that Cadence and Rosita had been plotting this for weeks. Cadence had the youth come and clean the days before my birthday and then arrive early to set everything up. It was the absolute sweetest surprise!!

    Everyone was there to worship and invite the Spirit to fall in my home, to hear my heart about Abide, to speak truth over me, and to pray over me on my birthday.

    

    Words cannot express what a gift this morning was to my heart! Unsurprisingly, I cried as we worshipped and prayed and as I shared my heart with my loves. As I looked around at all of these beautiful folks gathered together in the Home that has been a dream of my heart for so long and just this year stepped down into reality, I thought my heart might explode with joy! As I listened to everyone’s worship and the sound of their voices crying out to God, my heart just became overwhelmed. This journey towards Abide has been beautiful and exciting, but it has also been overwhelming to me. There are so many times when fear rises up– fear that I’ll be inadequate as a mom, fear of failure. As I stood on the stairs listening to the power and passion in all the voices that surrounded me, I just felt so supported and loved in a place where I have felt vulnerable. 

    This year I received an incredible birthday present– the gift of community. My heart was able to receive and experience the love and support of this incredible community. I shared my heart with them. They stood with me, loved me, and prayed powerfully over me. It was a morning of feeling known and loved. A time of feeling supported in my dreams, of knowing that there is an entire community standing with me in this dream. I am more thankful that words can express! I couldn’t ask for a more amazing community or a better way to celebrate my birthday. 

    To my New Song family and Chichigalpa community THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You all will never know what it meant to me to have you stand in this dream with me. A mi familia de New Song y mi comunidad de Chichigalpa MUCHAS GRACIAS desde el fondo de mi corazón. Todos ustedes nunca sabrán lo que significó para mí tenerlos en este sueño conmigo. 

   I have a feeling that there is going to be so much beauty in my 33rd year. It’s going to be a year of huge transitions, but I believe that God is so good and has some amazing things in store. I’m looking expectantly for abundant joy and beauty in this year.