Trying to be a Tree by a Riverbank

Tomorrow is the start of November. NOVEMBER. I'm not sure how the last few months in the states have gone quite so fast. When I was first talking with Barbara about support raising, I felt mostly excited to see how God would work through people to provide the support I needed. In these last few months, I have experienced times of excitement when I am overwhelmed by a pledge or donation that comes in. I have been astounded and brought to tears by the encouragement I've received. The people who have supported me through prayer are too many to count. I'm currently at 100% of my start up funds, and 63% of my monthly pledges! Praise God!

But here's the flip side. The excitement that I was anticipating isn't a constant state of mind anymore. Even though my support is increasing, there have been times when I've also felt discouraged and defeated. When contacts don't work out, my plans don't happen, or a week without pledges goes by, I start to doubt that I'll get the support I need. I know that people are praying for me and encouraging me all the time. There are just also days when my negative thoughts overtake the excitement and hope. My situations begin to influence my mindset more than they should.

Some days I wonder if I should be taking things off of my to do list so that I can spend more time on the actual process of support raising. Then I realize that I have had so many wonderful opportunities through what I'm doing right now. I am learning so much about my students, and it's amazing to see them grow not only in academic knowledge but in character. My heart breaks to hear of their backgrounds at times, but I am so thankful to spend even 30 minutes with them a day pouring into them too. I enjoy my time at the Nueva Esperanza office because it connects me with the ministry even when I can't be there. From my online college course, I am learning so many valuable things to apply in my teaching as well as simply how to interact with my students. Every opportunity and thing I'm involved in right now is good for endurance, growth, and relationships.

A few weeks ago, I read through Jeremiah 17. I've been thinking about a few specific verses from the chapter as I read through the rest of Jeremiah. So here's the context in chapter 17: Jeremiah is describing more of Judah's punishment because of their worship of other gods and other sins (a common theme throughout the book). Here's what I found amazing though. Even after 4 verses of that kind of message in the chapter, Jeremiah shares wisdom from the Lord in Jeremiah 17:5-8.
5 This is what the LORD says:
"Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.
7 But blessed are those who trust in the LORD 
and have made the LORD their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought. 
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit."

That passage seemed to have smacked me in the face. Looking back, I can see times when I was trusting in "mere humans" instead of making God my hope and confidence. How silly. I shouldn't be bothered when it seems as if there are days or weeks of little financial support. Right now, my challenge is to trust even more in the perfect God whom I serve. The God who created me and gave me a new life through Jesus Christ.

If you'd like to pray for me, here are some requests!
- Make more contacts and appointments with area churches
- Trust God more fully because He's always been faithful
- Find more people who are able to support me monthly

If you would like to get in contact with me, please email me at elovejoy634@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!