A Year Ago Today- Addison Brown

A year ago today I had just moved to a new state, literally the
day before. I had taken an internship at a camp in Texas. My heart was telling me that I was in the right place, but every other part of me
was telling me that I needed a full-time job. I had a lot of expectations of what I thought my life should be like at the age of 24, but of course none of those expectations have become reality.
Thank the Lord!

Two days after that internship ended I found myself moving, again, to a new state that I'd never been, to be a Fellow here in Colorado. I remember seeing the mountains and thinking that God must have gotten me confused with someone else. I am not adventurous or outdoorsy enough for Colorado. Colorado was never one of the plans that I'd made for myself. The word walk circled in my brain during the whole drive.

With all these plans and expectations I had for myself, I found myself always striving for what's next. The ultimate goal being a full-time job in a field that I loved, anything less was deemed unsuccessful in my mind. Walking was never part of the plan. Running and striving for what God had next for me consumed my thoughts. As I transitioned into this new role, it became very clear that God's plan for me right now in this season of life was to walk with Him. To actively listen to what He had to say, to slow down and actually be able to take in what He was trying to say to me. Words I never heard clearly because I was always trying to run to what I thought He had planned next.

To say that learning to walk with Him has been easy would be a lie. There have been so many times that I have listened to the lies that I wasn't enough or that I should be doing these different things with my life. Things that in the worlds eyes would mean that I was successful. In this season of life it has been made clear to me that He is teaching me things. Little by little He is showing me things we can work on to look more like Him. Things that will bring Him glory. Living unhurried and finding joy in the little moments are two of the things that He has currently been teaching me. And through all of that I am learning that obedience to God is what makes me successful. Not by worldly standards, but by one that truly matters. Recently we, as Fellows, read about Joshua. He was given victory over his enemies, and to many he was a great warrior. When I read about Joshua, I see a man who was successful because he was obedient to what God had told him to do.

There is still so much left to learn. My time for training is now. To question why God chose for me to be here would be a waste when I know there are other things that need to occupy my thoughts and grow me and prepare me for what lies ahead.

"Maybe success is measured best by nothing less than our
obedience"- Jimmy Needham