Friday, July 11, 2014

Internship Week 8

Because, you know I missed the 7 weeks in between and have been a horrible blogger. And now I'm struggling to come up with the words to describe how just absolutely, insanely perfect these past 8 weeks of my internship have been. So to start this awkward post, here's a link where you can see some of the work I've been doing. I've done maybe 10-15 of the latest post's cover pictures.

But showing you my work, doesn't show you the work God's doing in me. Even then, how do you write about such intense life changes? I first have to stay, that I am still so blown away that I was chosen to be here. It is an honor that people thought I was good enough to join the team that I'm on.

Elevation has changed my life.  It's where I learned to put Jesus at the center of everything I do. It's where I learned to fully rely on God. It's where I've learned to have full faith, even if my progress isn't visible. To give Him all my worries and find peace in Him. It's where I learned I still had room to grow. It's where I learned to stop comparing myself to people I'm not. It's where I learned to put others before myself. It's where I learned the importance of church participation. It's where I've learned how important community in the church is, building Godly relationships. It's where I've learned to praise God in any circumstance: joy, sorrow, peace, turmoil, God is always on the throne.

I'm sure these things could have been taught to me at most Godly churches in America, which still leaves the question, "Why Elevation?" Simply put, God has called me to be here. When we talk about Elevation's culture, the things we stand for, our mission statement, all of it, I'm brought to tears. We are creating a movement out of Charlotte, NC, and I'm so blessed that I've been called to it.

Something I noticed early on is that God keeps calling me back home to Charlotte, but I kept coming back the wrong way. Like my last time back, I had two jobs, an internship, and was in school part time. If I ever had the rare Sunday off, I'd watch online from my bed. And let me just tell you, there is a HUGE difference between watching church online and being there in person. Another funny thing about God's timing is that He's been pushing me to apply for this internship for years. But I'm noticing now that I'm here, His timing for this season of my life could not have been more perfect. He probably planted the seed for me to be here such a long time ago, because He knew I'd finally have the guts to apply this season. The people that He has surrounded me with this summer could not have been better for my spiritual health & growth. It's been so perfect working alongside them.

And to end the post, here's a random photo dump for those of you who don't stalk me on Instagram. You can see a description of each picture on my account! (I can't believe how few pictures I've taken.)