BY MEREDITH JOHNSON
Walking with Jesus is never easy. I was raised in a Christian home with very loving parents and a Christ-centered focus. Throughout my faith journey, I’ve been told “you’re a girl after God’s own heart,” I had fallen in love with the church, with ministry, and with Jesus. God has called me to many places and many people, to be able to share His love with those around me, He has given me incredible opportunities to do just that. Early this year God provided me once more with an opportunity: to do Summer of Service at YWAM SF! As I was preparing to come, I was expectant and hopeful of the things that I would see and the people that I would interact with, both outreach teams and friends on the streets. God has always come through in every journey He has put me on, so even though I expected there to be trials and struggles, I knew God would make it worthwhile. I said “yes” to walking with God once again and I was excited! But again, walking with God is never easy.
I struggled with the neighborhood, I struggled with feeling like I fit in, I struggled with finding my place. I didn’t know what to do or why God had called me here, or why in the world I had even said “yes”. In the midst of my first week leading a team, we came across a man that needed immediate medical assistance. He had fallen and was bleeding. At that moment, I questioned if I was in the right place. I was terrified, I felt inadequate to be leading, and I doubted that God knew what He was doing. Throughout this feeling of not being enough, I went to other staff members and they reminded me that God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called. God is able to watch over me and in the struggle God is continuously equipping me.
I had a moment with a student a week later regarding their own experience. The student felt inadequate, unworthy, and guilty for not knowing what to do. While they were speaking, I felt God saying to me that He equips the called and gives answers to those who say “yes” to Him. I am here during the Summer of Service to connect and relate with the beautiful students we get to work with every week. I am here to learn more about God’s unending love and to share that love with the students I lead. God has called me here and He is equipping me every single day to carry out His love and His light everywhere I walk. Walking with God is never easy, but it is always worth it.