Dalton Taylor
Hey friends and family!
As many of you know I committed to the fellows program very late and was blessed enough to snag that last spot just three weeks before the program started. We are now three weeks in and I cannot express the comfort I have experienced from the lord in this last minute transition. I was anxious, nervous and uncertain about why all the jobs I had applied and interviewed for just seemed to fall through in such weird and mysterious ways. Frustration was beginning to boil over. A week before I sent in all my application information, I received an email from a family friend saying the program had an opening last minute because a guy had dropped. In this moment I had two options. The first was to continue to follow these “leads” for jobs that would most likely fall through and be frustrated in what my purpose in life was. The second was to follow the advice of a former fellow we hosted when I was young and “stop being an idiot and do the program”. The straightforwardness was something that I needed (the enneagram 9 in me). So I had a good conversation with our director Ashley and I committed.
Romans 12: 2 says "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will"
A majority of my life I have viewed the start of new things as fresh starts to change/adjust to being the man the lord created me to be. However I never really followed through once I got to the feeling of comfort in whatever the new experience was. This verse in romans was read a couple times during our orientation retreat and has just continued to stick with me in these first three weeks. Of course I always knew the verse but never in the context that it had been explained to me in our first weekend as “new best friends”. I also took this verse extremely literal in that I wanted to renew my mind through the healing and strength of the lord.
This fresh start has been unlike any other in my life. I am so grateful for the 10 other fellows the lord placed in this program. I am thankful for the way the lord has provided me outlets for healing, growth and comfort. He truly works in the MOST mysterious ways. As I continue to grow throughout this next nine months I ask that you pray for our class, jobs, relationships and experiences. Thank you to anyone reading this that has provided financial support and guidance in such an exciting/nerve-racking season of my life. Something I can say I am learning is that the lords plan for our lives is so much more important than our own. I am thankful now that he provided me this program and this fresh start.
Until next time!
DT