Year 1 of Trellis, done!
Hey, everyone! It is hard to believe, but I have finished my first year of the Trellis program! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during this first year. I have gotten through it by the grace of God and your generosity alone.
It has been a humbling year! When you finish something, you receive the gift of being able to look back on what you have completed and see all of the ways that the Lord’s hand enabled you to do it. What a gift. My main purpose in this first year was to learn and observe. I rotated through each ministry at Wellspring and had the opportunity to learn from all of our pastors and staff. That alone has been the greatest privilege- to get to learn from pastors whom I respect. Each of them allows the Holy Spirit to lead them in their ministries, and I have learned that this might be the most valuable thing any of us can do.
When I look back at the last year, I see a mixture of some of my highest highs and lowest lows. There were moments when I didn’t know if I could do this. I was unable to see where God was taking me and, in all honesty, I struggled to trust that this was what I was supposed to be doing. It was hard. There were nights that I questioned my calling, wondering if I had heard the Lord correctly. It might sound strange, but I am grateful for those moments. I feel like, in many ways, I had to come to the end of myself. I had to learn what it meant to truly depend on the Lord. To put my trust in Him. It’s one thing to say that you trust Him, and a completely different thing to actually have to. Relying on others to pay my rent required a humility I didn’t know existed in me. The most humbling, though, has been to continue to say yes to Him every day. I have found true humility in showing up, saying yes to the call again and again. Even when I don’t feel Him or see where He is taking me. I know that He called me to this. I am learning how to surrender to Him every day. To bow down. To be still and know that He is God. To know that His plans for my life are far greater than anything I could possibly imagine.
This has been a year of learning, growing, and going deeper. We’re in deep waters now, folks, and I don’t think there’s any going back. It’s a good thing I don’t want to :) I have learned what it means to trust in the Lord with all of my heart, and I pray He takes me deeper into that revelation. I have learned what it means to love Him with all of my mind. Studying the Scriptures is one of the most humbling experiences. His word continues to challenge me, sharpen me, confuse me, and it seems to only grow my desire for Him more. I long to know what He is saying in His word and why He is saying it, and what it means for us. I long to teach others what He has taught me so that we may all be sharpened and formed into His likeness. I long to see a people who worship Him by loving Him and one another.
Some of my Spring highlights:
Preaching in the preaching workshop! Thank you, Olivia, for teaching and guiding me. You are the most encouraging person I know. Preaching a short little sermon at this workshop was one of the most nerve-racking experiences, but I am so grateful. It stretched me and stirred a passion in me to teach His word and preach truth.
Discipleship! Discipleship is my favorite thing ever, and it is becoming an increasing passion in my heart. The Lord calls us to make disciples! I have had the privilege of discipling a young woman named Gretel in our church. Her passion for the Lord inspires me, and she has only taken me deeper in my faith.
Thank you, Holy Spirit, for this first year! Thank you for the depths of your love that you have revealed to me. Thank you for never leaving me alone, not for one moment. I am so thankful to know you, Lord, and to be on this wild journey with you. I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.
This summer I will be continuing taking courses while having a little break from Wellspring. I will continue to fundraise to support my ministry over the next two years. I pray that this time would be filled with rest and restoration so that I would be fully prepared for all that the Fall has in store. The best is yet to come!
