The Last One

This is my last blog as a youth minister.

There are a million things I could say in this blog. I could talk about the thousands of lessons God has taught me through youth ministry. I could talk about the ways I have changed, grown, and matured as a person. I could go into the challenges and adversity and the blessings and glory stories. I could write about the pain of leaving so many kids that trusted me with their hearts, their time, and their wounds. I could dedicate the whole blog to the community of Caldwell and how much love and support they have shown me.  I could write an entire series about the beauty and hardships of dating a coworker. I could write about what it’s like to be surrounded everyday by joyful people who genuinely seek Christ and want to bring others with them.

This is what I will write about instead: God is present and real. He has a plan for each one of our lives, and He wants to communicate that plan to us. He wants us to take part in every detail of the adventure He has written for us. At times, it will be hard. It will be a struggle to discern God’s will, to do what you feel Him calling you to do, and to trust Him. There will be days when it is hard to be a Christian. Following Jesus is not easy, but it is the one most important thing that we can do with our lives. There is no fear that can stand up to the power of God.

Saying goodbye is never easy, but God has laid out a beautiful future for me. I’ll be attending Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio in the fall to earn a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling. I hope to be a counselor someday so that I can continue to be a vessel of God’s healing love to all those broken and hurting.

While this is the end of my time here at Ablaze, I know I will never be done ministering. We are all called to be missionaries wherever our lives take us, so my mission field is only changing.

The adventure has only begun.

May God bless you always.

If you’d like to continue keeping up with all that God is doing in my life, you can check out my blog at www.adventuresofkels.weebly.com