Letting Go: Trusting in God’s Plan

By Daniel Kyle

February 27, 2017:  Wow! What an amazing day! It was day three of our Alternative Spring Break Mission trip from Ferrum and it was nothing short of phenomenal. Today we went back to finish up the moving process with the family we were assigned to. We learned so much from helping the flood survivors from last year’s hurricane (Hurricane Matthew) at Virginia Beach that even after leaving their company, we were dwelling on the wealth of knowledge and wisdom we received from their beautiful spirits. We were in awe of how grateful and kind-hearted they were towards us. Stephanie, Jan, and Alexis worked with each other to organize and pack boxes extra heavy for the men, testing what little strength they had left after day one. Lukas and Mark put their “Boy Scout” skills to the test by securing boxes, with rope, inside the back of the truck. Ricky and Daniel did an exceptional job organizing the back of the truck to clear space for continuous oncoming traffic. Working together as a team never looked so good as each individual carried the motto “Not Self but Others” in their hearts and minds.

1 Corinthians 12 says Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. This verse exemplified how we felt as a team. Each of us had a different skill set or gift we brought to the table in order to accomplish the mission at hand. There were many times throughout the 2-day task we wanted to stop (because of fatigue) but the encouragement we received from one another gave us motivation to strive on. During our reflection period near the end of the day, a question was brought up in the discussion. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says He plans to give us a hope and a future, however, the question was asked how do you get to that future when you’re afraid of letting go? Looking at some of the flood survivors it seemed that some of them were reluctant to let some things go. Not just material belongings but emotional and sentimental feelings as well. We could only imagine what a lot of them have gone through in this past year losing their homes and personal possessions.

Sometimes it’s hard to find the right answer to tough questions but we took a stab at it with our thoughts on the day. First, understanding that things are replaceable. One of the survivors repetitively kept saying “It’s replaceable” throughout the day (referring to their possessions). It was almost like they were training themselves to believe what they were saying. That’s how God’s word works in our lives, by consistently reading it and dwelling on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Secondly, being appreciative and grateful for what you have can help you move forward in life. The survivors consistently showed their gratitude and appreciation not only towards the team, but also towards the materials they still have. They found value in the little things and their faith in God showed us that even when the storm is over, we can still put our trust and faith in God to restore any brokenness we may have.