i had plans, He had purpose.

as summer quickly approaches, i think back on the journey the Lord took me on to get here...it has been so perfectly orchestrated, and what makes it even better is that i had no idea what he was planning for me. my heart is truly overwhelmed. proverbs 19:21 states, "many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the lord's purpose that prevails." this verse has guided me through so many things this year. i love the distinction it makes between the plans of man verses the purposes of the Lord. purpose is so much greater than plan. here's a little glimpse into how my summer came together:

since my freshman year of college, i had dreamed of studying abroad this summer...God dreamed bigger and let my international experience correlate with my heart's greatest passion: african missions. as the fall began and the song "you said" by shane&shane continuously played in my life; God had purpose. God was intentional as the verses pslam 96:3 and 2:8 repeatedly came to mind and left my heart challenged. as i read david platt's radical and was confronted with the opportunity to give away more of myself than i had ever dreamed, God was planting seeds. as my heart swelled to the fact that our God is the God of nations while at Passion 2011, God was tying together my future. as my sister left to spend the year in Uganda, and i longed to go with; God was establishing my own unique path. as the planning of my trip began, i foresaw myself raising support to enable the journey; God had already planned for funding to come from my beloved university through a generous scholarship. as i tried to decide what african country i would end up in, God perfectly guided me to exactly where He wanted: 3 in fact. as i toyed with the idea of going on a mocha club trip, God swung open the door and then invited me deeper. and as i now have a month to go, God is continuing to teach me so much about his perfect plans that have such purpose.

i am about to embark on what i think will be the summer of a lifetime. i will spend two weeks in kenya with the mocha club visiting their various projects. i'm excited to see the actual product of a growing connection between auburn and africa. i will then travel to polokwane, south africa where i will spend five weeks with eagles nest christian school. i will get the opportunity to work with the young school children and assist in both local and international missions efforts.

so here i go...away from everything i know and all that is comfortable to me. here i go...knowing i have so much ahead of me to learn. here i go, with zeal and passion but also unsure of the unknown. here i go...trying to follow the instructions of psalm 96:3 in which the Lord proclaims, "declare my glory among the nations and my marvelous works to all the peoples!" so here i go...seeking to carry His name.