I tried not to go to the IF:Gathering in Austin this year. I even gave away my original ticket. I had surgery two weeks ago, and can hardly walk to the mailbox and back.
I was more than content to attend IF:Local with women from my community.
But the door kept opening, the nudges kept coming, and they have wheelchairs at the airport.
So here I go.
On Friday I will be hopping limping onto a plane with no expectations. Hands held open, face to the sky, ready for whatever God has for me in this space.
And as I continue to redefine what it means to invest in my local community, my heart races at the thought of what this weekend will bring. Especially since last year was better than I dared hope for.
As someone who doesn’t have life even the tiniest bit figured out, I do know this: When I release my plans and stop holding tight to what I think I have control over, God shows up.
I desperately want to have it all figured out. I wish I could look into the future and see what happens, but anything past this right-now moment is foggy at best.
So I focus my eyes on the tiny flicker of light right in front of me and take the next step. One step. One tiny little step. And God meets me there.
Every time.
Friday is another one of those tiny little steps. Into a wheelchair, onto a plane, I’m stepping into the future with a little bit of pain medicine and a whole lot of faith.
To learn more about the IF:Gathering, click here. To find an IF:Local near you, click here.
Mmmmm…. Love you, friend. Hoping with you for God to meet you in a significant way…
I love your blog! Your quote about “As someone who doesn’t have life even the tiniest bit figured out, I do know this: When I release my plans and stop holding tight to what I think I have control over, God shows up.” hit me right where it needed to. Thanks for letting God speak through you!
Oh my gosh, I heard about IF from your last post and I wish I would have known about it sooner because I would have loved to attend or at least go to a local gathering! I too, would love to see my future and all the steps laid out in front of me but God keeps teaching me trust instead. Can’t wait to hear about this gathering!
Have a lovely time! I’ll look forward to hearing a recap.
Kind of in the same boat here. A few weeks ago a friend asked ‘hey, have you heard about this IF thing?’ I had, and had secretly wished I could go to one. So we did our research and…the closest one was over 3 hours away. End result? With barely two weeks prep time we are holding a small IF:Local at our church and I am panicking because…NO CONTROL. I am panicked that the live stream won’t work, that our somewhat unreliable internet provider will choose this weekend to be unreliable, that the room will be too hot, too cold, too bright, too dark. But most of all I’m worried that all that stuff will keep God from showing up, which is just silly because he’s big enough for this. And I’m expecting him to show up.
That’s amazing! How did it go?
It went well. Several women who said they’d come didn’t for various reasons, so we had a small group. One woman walked out because she didn’t like that all the speakers were young, and she didn’t like the worship. We had a little confusion with the live stream Friday evening. But in the end, everyone who came and stayed got something out of the weekend. They were brave, and open, and I am excited to see what God does in them in the upcoming year.
I guess she didn’t stay long enough to see Christine Cain, Deb Eaton and encouragement from Liz Curtis Higgs. Too bad! So glad you had a good experience though.