Training camp has come and gone. My team and I are now in Chicago, Illinois. The road to get here has been full of adventure and change. Change in the best way possible meaning, growth not pain. Which is something I learned at training camp. 

Allow me to elaborate about the change that has been happening. For the longest time I equated change to mean pain and endings. Training camp and the first 2 weeks in Chicago has shown me that change is also growth and expansion. God gives us the choice to choose growth/change or stagnation/staying the same. I realized that staying the same can be just as painful as growth, but at least with growth you can look back and see you are in a better place now than when you started. 

God has been showing me through some times of reflection just how much He has been showing up on my behalf. I wasn’t able to see it because I was too focused on what I felt like I was losing. God led me to 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” From these verses He allowed me to realize that even when I feel like the cards are stacked against me, He is there. He is continually growing me towards Himself. Allowing me to love myself where I am and accepting that He loves me where I am and isn’t ashamed of loving me. 

God has been showing me through my team just how much He loves me. He hand picked these individuals to love me, to challenge me, to comfort me and I have never been so surprised with the way that strangers can band together and become family so quickly. The common thread of Christ is all we need to be devoted to each other. 

Thank you God for showing me community. I can’t wait to experience it more and more over the course of the next year. 

-Elizabeth