Maintain Speed. Keep Moving.

A couple months ago I was driving to Pennsylvania for a close friends wedding and as I was approaching a toll booth I noticed a sign that read "Maintain speed. Keep moving." I'm sure that I have passed that sign several times and it really is there to warn drivers to avoid an accident near the toll booth but this time around it really caught my attention. I couldn't stop thinking about that sign the whole time I was driving. Maintain speed. Keep moving forward.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:2

Notice that this verse says to RUN with perseverance. Not walk, not jog, not even power walk but RUN. I don't ever want to downplay or belittle the times in our lives where we must slow down, take a deep breath and be still before our heavenly Father because that is all indeed part of the race. However, sometimes we need to brush ourselves off, get up and RUN towards all that God has planned for us. Maintaining speed and moving forward. This verse has really been challenging my heart in many ways. It has been helping me to keep my eyes fixed on Christ, not looking to the left or the right and what everybody else around me is accomplishing and doing but keeping my gaze straight on towards Christ. It has helped me to really think about the race that Christ has marked out specifically for me, in this time, in this season of my life.

"There is one thing you are responsible for. Only one thing matters: Run the race marked out for you. Run forward toward the finish line with every ounce of strength in you and with your eyes fixed on Jesus, so that you too can one day say: 

'I have fount the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith 2 Timothy 4:7'" 

Christine Caine-Unstoppable 

I want to run this race well, with perseverance, moving forward, and seizing the opportunities that are in front of me. I want to run the race marked out for me. With all that being said I will be volunteering again with Mercy Ships from January 2017-June this time in Cotonou, Benin! The opportunity is here and the time is now and I don't want to waste any time. As I go the race will change. Seasons will change. I know I won't run this race with Mercy Ships forever. It is just one leg of the race that is molding,shaping and preparing me for the other legs of this divine race.

The first question I have been receiving is where is Benin?!?

I'm not sure what specialty/ward I will be working in until I get there but definitely hoping to work in the women's health program again. I will also be living and working on the ship the entire time this field service which is what most people do anyway. Last year's on land living was the exception to the rule due to the land based OBF clinic. On the right hand corner of this blog I have put some links with facts about Benin, a Mada II recap video (highly recommend) and some more information about the part you can play in this journey. 

As always I am so very thankful for your continued support, love, kind words and prayers!

Love Always,

Deborah

"God Almighty, who calls you by name, wants to make you a partner in his eternal work. He invites us to be world-changers by sharing the good news of eternal life and caring for the needs of a broken, hurting world. That's what running the race marked out for you is all about." 

                                                  Christine Caine- Unstoppable

Although I am currently serving with Mercy Ships, everything communicated here strictly reflects my personal opinions and is neither reviewed nor endorsed by Mercy Ships. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.