HELLO!

WOW! Hi, hello, welcome to my blog and welcome to my first blog post. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I feel SO ecstatic that you are here. Every one of you are here because, in some form or fashion, you have taken the step in supporting me. For some of you that has looked like giving financially. For others of you, it has looked like praying over me, mentoring me or speaking truth over me the past few months as I have prepared for this trip. In some way, you have given a part of yourself, and to that, I want to say the biggest THANK YOU (trust me, if I was able to reach through this screen and give you a huge hug, I would!). As of today (I swear I am not tearing up as I write this) I am fully funded for this trip. And in just a few days, I will be leaving to take on this new adventure! A sweet friend of mine once told me that with asking for ministry support, it does not look like you approaching a person with your hand wide open looking to receive, but rather, it is really you coming to them, looking to shake their hand. It is a partnership, a long lasting connection. In the most beautiful way, it is looking at each other and saying “I choose you”. There will be much to come these next few months with stories from the field. BUT FIRST, I have only one thing to ask of you in this partnership. I ask that you come with a soft heart. By that I mean, I ask that you receive what I have to say with heart that holds the posture of love above all else. I do not know what each of you feel when you hear the mention of God. For some of you, when you hear that, you feel held by joy and love, it is the warmest of hugs. For some, you may feel unsettled. Or for some of you, that name means nothing. That name is simply an empty void. I invite you all into this space. And whoever you are, whatever you feel, I have to speak one complete, absolute truth into your life right now. God completely knows you and He completely loves you.

Fully Known and Loved

Have you ever felt known or loved by someone? I want to emphasize, to be known OR loved by someone. I feel like it is always one or the other. Feeling known by someone is scary. It often leaves you feeling exposed, vulnerable, or possibly helpless. They see every bit of you, yet they do not love you. Or there’s being loved by someone. It sounds sweet but it is superficial. They do not actually KNOW you. To imagine being both in the eyes of someone is hard. To be truthful, I thought I would never find this. Too many experiences of being one or the other…

… until I met Him.

Or really, His perfect love met me, a year ago, in the middle of my brokenness. It met me in a dark place, a place that even those closest to me fled from, did not want to go near. And for once I felt like I saw Him. Not the broken, perverted, imperfect image of a self-created God that religion, influencers, the world had shown me growing up. No, I saw a perfect Father, who actually loved me in the midst of my hurt. And I felt captivated by that. Captivated by a love that was so complete. One that was kind and gentle, one that endured despite how ugly it got. I had never seen or experienced something so beautiful. A beauty that goes beyond words. Or as it is put in Romans…

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”(Romans 5:8 ESV).

The events that followed were weeks and months of slow surrender. An acknowledgment of my dependence on Him and His grace grew deeper every day. Seasons of highs, lows and everything in between. No matter the circumstances, His Word remained the same (Isaiah 40:8). It remained active and alive every day (Hebrews 4:12). I held fast, and still hold fast, to this truth…

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Romans 8:38-39 ESV).

Now this is just a mere glimpse of my experience over this past year. BUT from the small experience I have had, it has convinced me that nothing is greater than knowing this love.

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified”(1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV).

A love that is meant to go to the ends of the earth.

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and amen disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age'”(Matthew 28:18-20 ESV).

And that’s where I am today. Just choosing to love Him above all else.

A Step of Faith

Back to the handshake analogy. As you came to shake my hand, by giving a part of yourself to supporting this mission, I want to give a part of myself to you over these next few months. As you come, with a love-seeking heart posture, I want to share with you the beautiful things I encounter, and the ways His love continually transforms my heart and the hearts of those around me. And I believe His love can transform your heart in this process as well. I deeply want each of you to experience the love of Jesus as I share with you the ways others are experiencing His love. I encourage you to step into something you maybe have not stepped into in a long time. Or ever. Wherever you are, that is ok!!! I just ask you to step into His love for a moment as you read these blogs to come. Just the smallest baby step. Stepping into the complete truth that God knows every part of you, you are fully exposed before Him (Hebrews 4:13). You can not run away from that. But know that He completely loves you. Because of what Christ as done on the cross, we get to opportunity to experience that beautiful dynamic every day. So let us take this step together.

You are His Beloved. You are treasure in His eyes. You are chosen. You are free. You are His.

With so much love and much more to come, Kaitlyn