Something I mentioned in my last post is that I'm spending my summer raising support for this internship. This is the part of the deal that took me a long time to come to terms with and REALLY freaked me out. The truth is, it has turned out to be an incredible learning experience and something I feel really wholehearted about (truly the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart, that's not how I felt two months ago).
In order to move to Birmingham, I need to raise 85% of $33,787. I'm not even half way at this point, but I'm still really excited to see how it's going to come together. Okay, that last thought changes every couple of days or so. This summer has definitely taught me how much I let my circumstances determine my attitude. At the end of the day, I know that God can provide the support and that He loves to give his people good things, so I can trust him to bring me to the end of this summer, whether that means with support or without.
This process has been really hard for me for two reasons. First, I am always really reluctant to share how I feel about things and I hate to make people uncomfortable. This is not helpful at all when it comes to support raising because it is good to share my love for UAB and RUF and for sharing the Gospel with students and it is good to ask people to partner with me! It has really shown me how I need to learn to be less afraid of others and more concerned with sharing the really good things that God is doing in my life right now. Something that has helped me appreciate the support raising process is that it is really about relationship building. I have been blessed to deepen my friendships with so many people in my life by sharing with them about this internship and I've overcome a lot of fears about other people and what they will think of me. I have such a long way to go towards loving people the way Christ loves me, and he is graciously showing me that so much this summer.
Another reason this process has been difficult is that it has shown me that I am not a very self-motivated person. Support raising involves a big goal, with a deadline that's not exactly close and the reasons I want to do it are people who I don't actually know yet and are not around me everyday. I'm kind of excited about support raising next summer, because I'll be able to tell stories and share about individuals.
Training is next week! I'm excited because I love being with the other interns, and because the campus ministers will be there this time! I'm also anxious, though, because I know that I don't have very much support raised, and this training marks the beginning of the end of summer...
Until next time,
Laura
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