Just Get on the Bus!

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” -John 13:17

     Our church began sponsoring an annual weekend mission trip to Beautiful Feet Ministries in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015. I joined the team in 2016 and have had the privilege to go each year since.

     After my first trip, I came home thanking God for the wonderful opportunity, but just never thought I would go back. Each year, as the trip approaches, my mind is bombarded with the one million and one reasons why I “can’t go this year.” However, I always manage to end up on the bus. I have arrived many years at Beautiful Feet, thinking: “How did I even get here?” But when God prompts, we go. It’s always best, and it’s always worth it.

     When we volunteer for a mission trip, especially for the first time, we often have the impression that we are going to help others, to serve others, to bless others. While all of these predictions are valid, the greatest blessing occurs in our own hearts and in our own walks with Christ. At the Last Supper, when Jesus was preparing for the dark hour when He would give his life as a ransom for us, He left us with an incredible example of how we should live our lives—in humble service. After washing the disciples’ feet, He said: “…you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). He went on to emphasize: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:1).

     God wants to bless us. He wants to stretch and grow us. There’s something remarkable that God does in us when we take a step out of our comfort zones and into a place where we have to fully trust Him. There have been times on these trips when I have had to completely trust Him for the very next words to speak to a prostitute or drug addict or for the words to pray over someone who has lost everything, even their own children, as a result of choices they’ve made. God ALWAYS proves that He is strong in my weakness. He always stretches me, teaches me, and blesses me.

     Know that the work He wants to do in you and through you will spur a growth in you that you likely won’t see if you stay home to tend to the million and one reasons why you “can’t go this year.”

     If God is prompting you—just get on the bus!

-Christy Taylor