Neon Signs and Flashing Lights
You can go ahead and add number 12 to the list of people you meet at Young Life Camp because I am number 12: The girl who's not on staff but somehow still got herself onto this assigned-team anyway.
I AM GOING ON ASSIGNMENT!!! (Is that how you say it? Like, what do you say in that situation? Because every time I've said it I feel like I sound like a total tool. I mean, it's totally normal to say to a friend who is actually on Young Life staff, "Do y'all have an assignment this summer? Where is it?" I digress.)
I'm freaking out in ALL KINDS of ways, y'all. I mean, holy junk. There seems to be a recurrence in my life of times I look around and hear that Talking Heads song in my head listing off all the places you may find yourself, "And you may ask yourself, well... how did I get here?" Let me fill you in...
First of all, I apparently don't do well with the still-small-whispers from the Lord. Sometimes I think he probably wants to bop me on the forehead like the V8 commercials - I could probably write a whole 'nother post just about that. Anyway, I have a track record of needing a big neon sign to get my attention. (Remember that time I was so back and forth about staying in Australia or coming home? I'm pretty sure that sign had blinking lights.) Since I moved to Nashville, I think the Lord has been whispering to me that he wasn't finished using me in Young Life, but I basically ignored it. Honestly, I was intimidated/scared/convinced they wouldn't want me, all the things. When your entire experience in Young Life is in the same region, with the same people, for 14 years, it starts to feel really comfortable. Where the Tar Heel region feels like one big family, the Tennessee region felt like a state full of strangers. That was scary. Long story short, I ended up in a Bible study with some girls who are involved with/on staff with Young Life in various capacities. In hanging out with some of those friends recently, I ended up having a couple of "why aren't you involved with Young Life?" conversations, all at once, that I did not initiate. The Lord was starting to push me a little harder, but I still had so much fear holding me back. I knew I still wanted to be a Yong Life leader, and the fact that I had the same conversation with 3 different people over the span of 4 days was the neon sign I needed. I knew it wasn't by coincidence that it kept coming up, and I finally worked up the courage to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago I emailed one of the girls I'd met through Bible study, we had lunch, and holy junk now I'm a Young Life leader in Nashville. I went to my first club last night! (I also got yes ma'am'd by one of the leaders. Insert appropriate emoji.)
In the midst of all of that, I got a text from Lindsay one morning that said, "Hey when is your school year over?" She explained that there were some openings on their summer assignment at Southwind and she needed to check into some things, but she would get back to me. Six days later I got a text from a Nashville-friend, Terri, that said, "Hey would you like to go to Southwind during session 1? You're name was suggested to be a part of that team." I'm not even kidding a little bit when I say that I have secretly hope something like this would happen for YEARS! I'm going to Southwind to be the Women's Work Crew Boss during session 1. WHAT?!?! I've gone from almost no YL in my life for almost 2 years, to all of this happening in the span of about 3 weeks. It's not a coincidence, and I am so glad the Lord sends me neon signs when I need them. Y'all, I'm so excited!!
I AM GOING ON ASSIGNMENT!!! (Is that how you say it? Like, what do you say in that situation? Because every time I've said it I feel like I sound like a total tool. I mean, it's totally normal to say to a friend who is actually on Young Life staff, "Do y'all have an assignment this summer? Where is it?" I digress.)
I'm freaking out in ALL KINDS of ways, y'all. I mean, holy junk. There seems to be a recurrence in my life of times I look around and hear that Talking Heads song in my head listing off all the places you may find yourself, "And you may ask yourself, well... how did I get here?" Let me fill you in...
First of all, I apparently don't do well with the still-small-whispers from the Lord. Sometimes I think he probably wants to bop me on the forehead like the V8 commercials - I could probably write a whole 'nother post just about that. Anyway, I have a track record of needing a big neon sign to get my attention. (Remember that time I was so back and forth about staying in Australia or coming home? I'm pretty sure that sign had blinking lights.) Since I moved to Nashville, I think the Lord has been whispering to me that he wasn't finished using me in Young Life, but I basically ignored it. Honestly, I was intimidated/scared/convinced they wouldn't want me, all the things. When your entire experience in Young Life is in the same region, with the same people, for 14 years, it starts to feel really comfortable. Where the Tar Heel region feels like one big family, the Tennessee region felt like a state full of strangers. That was scary. Long story short, I ended up in a Bible study with some girls who are involved with/on staff with Young Life in various capacities. In hanging out with some of those friends recently, I ended up having a couple of "why aren't you involved with Young Life?" conversations, all at once, that I did not initiate. The Lord was starting to push me a little harder, but I still had so much fear holding me back. I knew I still wanted to be a Yong Life leader, and the fact that I had the same conversation with 3 different people over the span of 4 days was the neon sign I needed. I knew it wasn't by coincidence that it kept coming up, and I finally worked up the courage to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago I emailed one of the girls I'd met through Bible study, we had lunch, and holy junk now I'm a Young Life leader in Nashville. I went to my first club last night! (I also got yes ma'am'd by one of the leaders. Insert appropriate emoji.)
In the midst of all of that, I got a text from Lindsay one morning that said, "Hey when is your school year over?" She explained that there were some openings on their summer assignment at Southwind and she needed to check into some things, but she would get back to me. Six days later I got a text from a Nashville-friend, Terri, that said, "Hey would you like to go to Southwind during session 1? You're name was suggested to be a part of that team." I'm not even kidding a little bit when I say that I have secretly hope something like this would happen for YEARS! I'm going to Southwind to be the Women's Work Crew Boss during session 1. WHAT?!?! I've gone from almost no YL in my life for almost 2 years, to all of this happening in the span of about 3 weeks. It's not a coincidence, and I am so glad the Lord sends me neon signs when I need them. Y'all, I'm so excited!!
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