you are called. & sweet baby brooklyn

as i sit here in write this for the 20th time i have no idea what to write about. the past week has brought extreme highs and extreme lows. i have felt lost and alone in this walk with the Lord, and i somewhat gave up hope that i am called to walk into a high school and be an example for Christ. alot of days i sit through class and im like what the heck am i supposed to be doing here. i look around me and see a bunch of kids who think i am crazy. i miss my work crew friends aton, and i now understand how much i took for granted those 14 days that we were all together and had the opportunity to just sit and talk about Christ whenever i wished. time is flying by and i am still trying to catch up with last week.

but our God is a great God who see's me struggling and picks me up and carries me through this.
 
Matthew 4:18-22

¹⁸ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰ And they left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹ A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²² They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Just like these disciples Christ met me in the middle of what i found life in. and he called me. i was called to follow a God that i knew nothing about. i was called to love on my friends, my family, and my enemies. i wasn't called to follow the crowd but to follow Christ. i am called to let Christ do the work through me and allow Him to equip me for what His plans entail. and its hard, like these past few days have worn down my heart. i mess up and i believe in the lies satan puts infront of me but it doesnt matter because God gave His one and only Son to die for me. to die for you so that through our mess ups. through our disbelief, through our times of trials, He could be there with us every step of the way. that He could bare the pain for us and love us anyways.

we are not called to sit around and do the things that society tells us to do. we are not here to follow the plans that are normal. we are called to follow Christ. we are called to love Christ. and when we do that we will witness what we were blind to before. we will witness His mighty power. we will feel His endless love. we will be a part of something that we never thought was possible.

when you are struggling dont give up hope. i promise, it will get better i promise that the Lord is fighting for you. i promise that in the end you will witness Christ in ways you never have before. i am praying for all of you reading this and struggling. i will continue to pray for you. know that you are not alone in this, know that there are so many of us that are here for you, and we will continue to be here for you forever.


Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

Exodus 14:14
^"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”


one last thing.

this weekend i got to meet an incredible woman who literally radiates Christ light. Her name is Kristen. Kristen and her husband gave birth to a sweet baby girl name Brooklyn three months ago. Brooklyn was born with a hole in her heart and has recently had surgery. although the surgery went well B's post ops have had huge complications. in the past week she has been put on strong medicine that have huge side effects one of which her brain could start bleeding. But brooklyn is a fighter last week she has fought with everything she has to survive. Both her parents work, but have exausted their FMLA between having to work to mantain daily life and going back and forth from here to Charlottesville to be with Brooklyn.

and for alll of you reading this. i am asking you to pray. pray with everything you got for this beautiful little girl. pray that she will not start bleeding because of the medicine, pray for the doctors hands, and for her parents. pray for her parents that they will find rest in the Lord as they do as much as they can for their daughter. pray that they will not have to worry about anything except for the recovery of their daughter and that the financial needs will be provided. please pray for baby Brooklyn's recovery.

if you would like to help or would like more information about Brooklyn and her family please contact me at hhailey.p@gmail.com