Five Minute Friday - Joy

On Fridays a bunch of brave writers gather here to all spend 5 collective minutes writing on a single prompt. It’s here that fear falls away, because scared is the new brave. There is safety in this community that rallies ‘round you – whether you’re having an utter confidence meltdown and are sure you can’t write anymore, a catastrophic parenting meltdown and are sure you can’t mother anymore, or just an epic almost Friday breakdown and are just not sure. These women – they’ve got you. This blessed, beautiful place where we open our hearts and let words and tears and the inner workings of our lives bleed and flow and dance across the virtual pages. Yes, this community opens wide and invites you in to share. Come and visit and read. You will be blessed.

This week: Joy

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When the thought first came down – the way it often does when God registers something in my heart – my initial reaction was, “really?” I supposed it should have been “yes!” Immediately, unhesitatingly yes. With all that I’ve been reading and learning and digesting and declaring. Declaring that I am ready and able to stand and do things for Him. But instead, I felt myself shrink inside a little. Hop to the side like a chickadee who has been disturbed in mid-peck. You want me to do what, Lord?

It may not seem like a large thing at all. Pray. Ask. Invite. And I was going to be praying anyway. Because He’d laid her on my heart and despite not really knowing her, I felt like I knew something, and it was Haiti after all so yes, I was going to be praying. But inviting? Asking? I don’t do that.

Because I’m not anyone at all. No big name. No platform to speak of. And I have always been a behind the scenes girl. I’ve got that part going on: stage manager, makeup artist, photographer, speechwriter, even coordinator. But no one was going to jump on board just because I invited them to join up and pray. And there it was: fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of someone laughing. Fear of someone thinking I was trying to be something I’m not. Fear of disappointing. Fear.

But fear does not come from above. It is not a gift from God. It is not a gift at all. Fear is a scene stealer, a soul quasher, a light banisher, and a dream exiler. And I knew deep down that I wasn’t supposed to be giving into it. At all.

So before I could change my mind, rethink it, justify it away, or allow the thought to drift, I threw the idea out to my online writing group: 192 Hours of Prayer for our friend and sister in Christ who was going on a mission.

I sat back after I hit enter and listened to the silence echo. I think we sometimes call that crickets. And then I wrote it again somewhere else. And then tweeted it. Figuring in all honesty that it I was going to fail at this, I might as go down as epically as possible.

Kaitlyn - who blogs at It Just Takes One

But then I heard it. That musical chime and buzz of my phone that lets me know a message has arrived. Then again. Then again. Because I put the fleece out and God responded. And I cried. Quiet tears of joy, but I cried. His call resonated through the hearts of the women I know and they started signing up. And sharing. And signing up. And getting more people involved. And then my mom. And my mother-in-law. And my auntie. And people who don’t even know her.

The Lord is doing this to bless her, cover her, and anoint her mission to Haiti with her team. But He’s also doing this so show me that He shows up. When you answer even the smallest thing; when you step out – even when you are afraid – and follow His lead, He will be there. And there is no greater joy than to be a vessel in His hands.

There is still room to sign up and pray.
Kaitlyn blogs at It Just Takes One and works at (in)courage while finishing up college in Alabama. She writes with the Five Minute Friday crew and is the organizer of the #fmfpartysnailmail - a growing group of Five Minute Friday writers who stay connected via encouraging cards and letters to each other. To learn more about Kaitlyn her journey to Haiti, click here. If you would like to sign up for a one-hour time slot to pray for her, please leave me a message in the comments. Right now, we have times from Saturday, March 22 through Thursday, March 27. Midnight to 5:00am and 2:00pm through 8:00pm. This is #192HoursofPrayer

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How to Join 
Want to know about Lisa Jo Baker, how Five Minute Friday got started, and how to participate? All the details are here. No editing or second guessing. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

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