Intentional Moments (In AUSTIN, TX)

As you can probably tell by my Instagram posts, I met some of the girls from my squad this weekend. Let me tell you, they are some of the most caring and sweetest people I have ever met. But, they are so much more than that. They are deeply genuine, kind, compassionate, and have a desire to know Jesus in such an intimate way. They have a kind of love for Him that you don’t see all the time. Jesus radiates through their words, actions, and decisions they make every day. Seeing His glory shine through them is so beautiful – and I get to spend 9 months with them! WHAT?!!

Going into this weekend, I was super nervous. The unknown is a scary thing, and meeting a group of people I have never met before was nerve-racking. But Jesus made it easy. He was visible from the very start of our time together. There was never a dull or awkward moment with this group of girls. It was so incredibly easy to open up to them and to be vulnerable – something I’ve wanted for so long. But something that made this weekend incredibly special was that everything we did was surrounded by Jesus, He was within every conversation, every laugh, and cry, every single worship song that was sung (I just got chills writing that.) He was completely present and transparent with us. He allowed us to see what a glimpse of living in a community looks like – that it won’t always be easy to live with the same people – but when He is present, it will always be okay. 

There were SO MANY Jesus moments this weekend but one that really stuck out to me was this: On Sunday morning, we did praise and worship in the busiest park in Austin, TX. (This called me super out of my comfort zone, worshipping in a huge public place.) But what I didn’t realize was the affect this was going to have on the people in the park. My beautiful friend and squadmate Bree started playing her guitar and singing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man looking at us, trying not to make it too obvious that he was listening to the worship that was going on. As we continued to sing, I looked up and saw that the man had moved to a bench about 20 feet away from us. He had his hands out, worshiping with us. He ended up walking over and talking to us about Jesus… HOW COOL IS THAT. We learned so much about Jesus from that very moment – that being called out of our comfort zone, can affect another person in ways we can’t understand. In this instance, it was that man that was affected. This was just one out of the many people that came up and talked to us or just listened from afar. Jesus was moving in this park. 

These girls taught me what it means to love someone no matter what. They taught me that it is important to bring Jesus into every conversation. AND, this was only 8 people out of our 40 person squad!!! There are so many more beautiful people to meet and love. 

I could go on and on about this weekend but this is all Jesus wanted me to write for now. So, thank you Jesus for bringing me such a wonderful, kind, and beautiful group of girls. Please allow me to love them just as much as you do. 

Forever His,

Celia