Greetings from Myrtle Beach! Thank you all for coming back and reading my new blog! I hope your week is going as great as mine! This week I have had the awesome opportunity to spend the week at the beach with my family. It's an annual tradition. Every year in June, my Grandparents pay for each family to spend an entire week at Myrtle Beach Travel Park. It is something we have been doing for a while. I can't remember a year we haven't spent at least a week at the beach. This week, my family and I have been taking lots of strolls down memory lane. As we have been reminiscing, one memory always seemed to come up for me. I always hated leaving the beach, but not because I would miss the ocean, or the food, or even laying around. I never liked leaving because the beach was always my "safe" place. Nothing bad ever seemed to happen here. My family was always right there beside me and I could keep a close eye on them. When we went home, life had to go back to normal. We were all on different schedules. I remember lying in my bed at night being scared something would happen to my family when I wasn't around. I stayed up scared for nights after coming home. I never understood why my parents wanted to leave the safety of the beach. Then, a few days ago, while I was laying in bed, it hit me. In order to grow, one has to step out of his or her comfort zone or safe place. We had to go home. My parents had to work and make money for us to come back the next year. All of this came to mind because while I was laying there in bed, my mind started racing. That always seems to happen when I am trying to go to sleep. I was thinking about my upcoming trip, and how I will have to leave my comfort zone, my house, my family, my country, and travel to Belize in order to grow as a missionary. I started getting extremely anxious and panicking. Thoughts like, what if I'm not good enough, or what if I don't like it there started filling my mind. Then, almost as quickly as those came, Matthew 28:20 entered my mind. In this verse God says, "... I am with you always..." What a statement. He doesn't say, I am with you sometimes, but always! I couldn't stop smiling after that. I realized my safe place is no longer a worldly location, but my safe place is in God. He is with me always! So now I can stop letting Satan plant scary thoughts in my mind. I can enjoy the rest of this week with my family! I may have a limit on how many physical things I can bring with me to Belize, but there is no limit on how many memories I can take with me!
-Brittney
Matthew 28:20
Brittney Timberlake
