Gratitude. It’s the word that brings me to tears lately. The words of the song are perfect with what my heart feels.
Y’all... I WISH I could adequately put into words how much this vacation was filled with Gratitude. I know I can’t but I’ll give it my very best effort here.
In late 1997 God sent me to The United Methodist Church of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida to be their Youth Director. There I stayed until late 2006 and the relationships I (he) built in those short 9 years have been among the most important of my life. During that time I had the incredible opportunity/honor to pour into the lives of students and adults and get to be a part of their faith story. As you can imagine, they equally poured into mine and became a part of MY faith story.
Some times in our lives we begin to struggle with purpose. We get caught in the mundane of life and forget to see the wonder in everything. I’ve been in a funk lately with not feeling my purpose in action and not feeling like I had a place to fit in. Not able to feel at "home" anywhere. Not like I did in Florida. God has been working to show me his goodness in ways I’m familiar with. This trip was absolutely the medicine that I needed.
So many of my former youth came to catch up, get a hug, and even encourage me. What I'd give to have had the time to sit down with each of them and hear more about how God is showing up in their life. Before we prayed over our meal I asked the question I'm known for asking (Thanks for making sure I did that Debby O) "Where have you seen God today/lately?" It was so special to hear a snippet of where God is showing up in their lives.
From the moment I set foot in the state of Florida my eyes started welling up with tears. The love the whole Taylor fam has been shown is overwhelming. Whether it was giving us a place to call home for a few days, putting together a party, playing with my kids, planning our adventures to Disney, making Disney happen for us, being so excited to meet and be with my little family, watching them fall in love with my people and the place I love so much. There aren't words.
The verse that keeps going through my head is Luke 6:38 "Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full-- pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over and poured into your lap." I tell you it kept pouring and pouring into my lap... overflowing.. So many made time, made LONG drives, rearranged travel/work schedules, and gave beyond anything I could imagine. You may think "oh, it wasn't that far to come" or "it was no big deal" or "we like having parties anyway" or "we were going to be in Colorado so you may as well use our home" but it was HUGE for us. Huge for me b/c I needed to feel God's love wrap around me like that. Huge for my family b/c they got to see God's love come out of nowhere from people that were strangers to them and feel like family immediately. The hugs I got felt like hugs from God himself and the magnitude of the love given to Team Taylor is not lost on us. My heart is overflowing with love for all of you. There are so many more I didn't get to see and hopefully NEXT time, I will.
I love you all. Thank you for everything. Thank you for loving me like Jesus does. Thank you for the love, words of encouragement and appreciation. Thank you for helping me remember how to listen a little more closely to where God is leading. And lets be honest, i'll forever hope He's leading me back to Florida ;-)
It won't be a beautiful beach sunrise, or a trip to Disney but you're welcome in Texas any time. Our sunsets do rival any sunset around. Hopefully soon we will get together again!
In the mean time, I'll throw up my hands and worship a God that saw fit to weave all these lives together and fill my heart with such love and Gratitude.
All my love,
Jenn
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