I realize many of you who have never been to a youth conference might roll your eyes a bit when I come home from a conference and gush about how these youth ROCK the house in faith…if you are one of these people then you don’t know what you are missing!
Today I had the gift of speaking at the Houston Catholic Vietnamese Youth Conference held at the Catholic Charismatic Center. There were roughly 400-500 Vietnamese teens from all over the Houston area and they were ON FIRE with the Holy Spirit! It was a sheer honor and pleasure to have been a part of their first time gathering in Houston.
When I arrived this morning I didn’t know what to expect. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to speak through my story and that God’s will be done in reaching whomever He needed to touch through what I had to offer. But when I walked in I will confess, I was a bit intimidated! 🙂 I always feel nervous before giving a talk but this feeling brought me back to the beginning. I believe it is because I’m in such a vulnerable state at this time with all that is strangling me in my home life, the enemy was using that to instill self-doubt into a message I knew God had hand-written for me to deliver.
That is when this beautiful woman comes and sits down beside me. Her name is Cynthia and she begins to tell me that she connects with my story and believes we have a lot in common. Instantly my heart opened to her, without even knowing details if someone tells me they relate even in the least bit to what I’ve been through then I know they understand suffering. The music was already coming to life in the background so we didn’t have a chance to really talk but in her simple act of reaching out to me, she broke the grip of uncertainty that had gripped my nerves. She was an angel sent to calm me down. 🙂 Look at her! You’ll never guess her age?
Let’s just say that whatever is in the water she drinks if she were to find that ingredient and sell it she’d be able to feed all the poor in the world!! 🙂 Gorgeous and a Godsend!
Her presence calmed me down and I believe the message was delivered as best as I knew how…and then I received another gift. I was praising the band for their amazing energy and gifts (really, you should check them out! They travel all over and are anointed beyond measure! www.jamfestministries.com) when they asked if they could pray over me.
“Absolutely!” I said, when I wanted to cry on the spot. It was then I realized how much I needed this gift from a community of believers. The gift of love through prayer. In the end they each told me what they ‘felt’ during prayer and I finally couldn’t stop the tears that I’d been fighting. I went today to do a ‘job’ in the ministry I’ve been called to and in the end I left filled to the brim in God’s love. He spoke through them to me and reassured me that all is okay, that even though I can’t see the path in the ‘corn field’ Jesus knows the way and is holding my hand through the thick mess.
I came home and wept. I was exhausted with His love and outpouring. Today was a beautiful day and these teens, they are beautiful people worthy and full of His grace.
Blessings
Shannon