by ROZEBELLE ANNE YUMANG
As someone who loves adventures, this year has been quite an unexpected journey. 2020 hasn’t been easy for a lot of us and personally, there were many surprises that were fear and worry-inducing. They affected me physically, mentally, and even spiritually.
I found it difficult to connect to the Lord. I even thought of disengaging altogether–an easy escape from all the anxiety brought about by the uncertainties.
I was asking and evaluating myself a lot of times, “Is my faith wavering? Why am I being swayed away and getting distracted by all of these things?” This was something I feared.
“I was reminded that I wasn’t all alone in my journey.”
Thankfully, I have people around me that I can count on to be my safe place. I have a community that experiences the same struggles and fears, but most importantly, the same faith. This reassured me. I also have my Life Community, my youth ministry team, and my family. I was reminded that I wasn’t all alone in my journey.
The Lord is and has always been working in and through all things. At times when I feel stuck and not able to do anything, I was reassured of His promises. I’m learning that in chaos, peace is a promise He keeps.
As a youth leader, I was worried that making relationships flourish seemed impossible because everything was online. I was amazed at how God worked in ways that I wasn’t just expecting; I saw certain relationships being reconciled and made deeper and closer during the quarantine.
“However impossible it may seem to us,
God is Someone who engages and pursues.”
There are people I know who are really thirsty and craving for love, too. I have talked to them about God’s love and His grace. I am so happy because there are those who are so willing to listen and even receive the good news. And as a shepherd, I’m also happy that, even with my disciples’ busy schedules, they are trying really hard to commit and engage with one another.
Now, I see hope. Despite all the brokenness that I see everywhere, He is the truth and hope that I could hold on to. With His love and grace, we, the Church, are fueled and moved to declare that however impossible it may seem to us, God is Someone who engages and pursues. In turn, we could engage others so that they could find hope in Jesus, too.
♦ ♦ ♦
Rozebelle Anne Yumang
Rozebelle is a Youth Leader at Youth@111, and a Life Community Leader at CCBC.
