Sufficient Grace

“Honestly, your ministry challenges me a lot.”

This is what I recently told Angela as I reflected  on my time with Holistic Hope.

In the area where I help the most which is the Emergency Prep classes, I have to do hard and scary things like public speaking, teaching topics that I may not be as familiar with, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, Spanish is thrown into the mix.

The result is a racing heart and a dry mouth minutes before I get up in front of everyone. 

So as terrifying as that is, why do I keep doing it? I’ve been involved in Angela’s ministry for almost a year now and I continue to show up. Why?

Because it is a huge blessing. 

It is a huge blessing for the communities we serve. It’s so encouraging to hear feedback after every class of how much of a need we’re meeting and how impactful it is to know what to do in emergency situations which could help save lives. 

I love the tool of education as a simple and powerful way to empower others. Passing on knowledge and “teaching to fish” is something I’m passionate about, and this ministry does exactly that and more. 

So how can I not overcome my shaky knees when I see how many people left class feeling relieved that if an emergency were to happen to them or their loved ones, they would know what to do?

And that brings me to the second blessing. 

It is a huge blessing to me personally, because it reveals a common tool God uses to work in our hearts, minds and lives, and that tool is called “hard things.”

Not everything that scares us is bad. Not everything that challenges us and makes us work hard should be avoided. In fact, I believe we should embrace the challenges God puts in our lives, not run from them. Otherwise how else would we grow?

God says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:10). 

I can’t take credit when my legs are shaking and my heart is racing and I get up in front of everyone and miraculously the words come, one sentence at a time. And I realize: “here is the promised grace of God, showing up despite my many inadequacies.”

Through embracing the challenge God holds out to me by being a part of this ministry, I have grown so much in the past year, both in nursing and Spanish, but above all, through experiencing God’s grace and faithfulness to give me the courage and strength needed to do his will.