Heart, Hands, Feet and All

I am undone, tonight.

Tomorrow, I board a plane with four new friends and a number of strangers and set off on an adventure. And I know no other way to describe it. For the sake of not romanticizing everything, I have been focusing lately on the here and now - on the hall and door decorations for Homecoming and the friends whose company I have so enjoyed over the last few days. The second I left work this afternoon, though, the here and now seemed all too much like I had finally reached the edge. Like I was slowly approaching some precipice and before reaching it, decided to enjoy the last few steps leading to the jump.

And now it's the jump.

I am excited beyond belief; I think that could maybe characterize a number of things happening in my life right now, like the article on Relevant, the love of my life coming home in exactly thirty days, and experiencing the overwhelming life-support of my incredible family and my amazing friends - and not just in preparation for this trip. It's been the rallying, though - the calls and the lunches and the conversations and the prayers that have touched me so deeply - that leave me to sit here in tears, good tears, because of gratitude welling up in my heart.

And that is why I can go. Because the place "beyond belief" is where you have pointed me on towards. A good bit of the faith and courage I am feeling tonight (and hopefully tomorrow, and the next day... and the next) is because of you - and whether you know it or not, you are a gift of God to me. He has used you, no matter what your belief in Him is, to change me to and to spur me on and to dream bigger than I can possibly imagine; and I don't want that to end with Africa. I want to come home and remember all of this and continue on a path where change isn't about doing what is comfortable and fear isn't what keeps us from truly living, full of love and hope and courage.

I can imagine this probably all sounds a little flowery and emotionally charged, but it's the truth. And I just had to say it and will probably continue to do so, so just bear with me. Life would be easiest if we were all on the same page, but God in His irony has written us each a different story so that becomes nearly impossible; funny, though, how our stories intersect at such pivotal and yet, even trivial moments. This, well, this is a pivotal moment.

My hope is to come home changed, having seen a piece of the world and maybe leaving a piece of me there. Which means a part of you will be there, too - heart, hands, feet and all. Incredible, isn't it?