Friends, this is what was going thru my mind about 8:45 last night... Just over and over again: "look around you, girl, and see just how much God loves you, and REALIZE that He's got everything in His hands!"
My friend Jess and I had plans to spend time together on Friday. She travels for her job, and is leaving on Tuesday again, so I won't see her till I return from PNG. So, we thought we'd take a night to hang out, go do something fun, and celebrate her birthday early (since I'll miss that too). I was running behind because I was still putting together a little gift for her, and I called her and told her. But time flies, and soon, I was about 45 minutes late!
So I get to her house, and she comes out to meet me. She hugs me and says, "Well, Em, I don't know if we're going to be able to go out anymore tonight..." I was like, "Oh man, I'm so sorry for being so late- I ruined the evening, didn't I!" Jess said, "No, it's just all these people kept dropping by over here..." (She opened the door, and lots of people were inside) "They heard you were going on a trip, or something, and they all wanted to stop by to show their support to you before you leave."
Inside the house were about 25-30 of my good friends- people from my homegroup, from Revolution, etc. (my ROOMMATE was even there- and she'd played it off like she was going to see a movie with friends while we were getting ready together. Sneaky girl!! Ti-na-na-naaaaaa!!) - Janice and Jess had orchestrated a little surprise get-together for me- they wanted to be sure I knew how much I was loved, that I'd be missed, and that I was supported.
I can't even tell you adequately how that felt. I felt very weak-kneed, and needed to sit down! After a little bit of greeting everyone, going around and giving hugs, I started looking around the room and noticing little touches: over on a door was a poster Jess had made with pictures from my first trip (same ones on the blog). Above the glass doors was a banner that Janice had made that said "God Bless Your Trip, Emily". And then, in the corner was a basket for trip donations. When I saw that, I couldn't help but cry. It was just too much. The gift was so large- those girls' hearts are so huge- the outpour of love and support was too much for me right then. With tears in my eyes, I looked around the rooms, surveying my friends, and pondering what just happened... And that Little Voice was whispering to me, "Look around you, take it in, and KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that I am GOOD."
