By Rachel Labs - Class of 2024
One of the biggest blessings of being a Charlotte Fellow is the growing friendships the program freely offers. It’s been a huge joy to get to know the fellows, my mentor, host family and coworkers better since I arrived a month ago. I have had lots of ups and downs since arriving in Charlotte, but the constant support of the community around me has encouraged me more than I give credit sometimes. It’s a gift to be in a stage of life where there’s time to invest in friendships and disciple each other while deepening our understanding of faith and scripture together. Also, the amazing people investing in us have already made an impact on my heart.
Through the different bible studies and roundtables (where people in the community share their stories with us) we’ve had, a continual theme has been the sovereignty of God’s will for our lives. God uses the most unqualified people, like Ruth who was a Moabite and carried on the lineage to Jesus’s birth. He uses David’s life displayed in Psalms to express the lamenting of God’s people at times of despair and confusion. We are all a part of God’s sovereign plan, despite what decisions we make.
Making the decision to do the Charlotte Fellows and move all the way from Lancaster, PA was intimidating for me because of the unknown life I would have for nine months. Initially when I got here, I was hit with a lot of change and was immediately challenged in new ways. Settling in these past few weeks has given me space to receive the grace of remembrance; to remember the times in scripture that God led his people into unknown territory to carry out his sovereign will. Some examples that have been a part of conversation recently: the Israelites being sent into the wilderness for 40 years and Ruth following Naomi blindly simply because she loved Naomi and was loyal to her.
Following “your call” is used a lot in Christin circles, and sometimes I limit that to mean that there’s a specific path the Lord has for me that I need to discover. But scripturally, we aren’t promised a mapped-out life plan if we pray enough or read our Bible enough. Discerning “your calling” is a theme of fellows and what I’ve asked myself numerous times before. But I have learned to put less pressure (as Kathryn would say “the pressure is off”) of finding my “one” calling and instead living into what my calling is in the here and now. Right now, answering God’s calling for me is being faithful in the unknown, remembering that he is sovereign. It’s surrendering to how he wants to use my time in Charlotte, and where he will lead me next because he knows all things. My instinct to plan out my life has to die for me to do this well, and that is what I’m currently trying to do.
As sheep we are called to follow the Lord, our good Shepherd. Fun fact, ‘Rachel’ means female sheep in Hebrew, and I always thought that was lame. But recently I have found comfort and meaning in it by meditating on Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” I desire to trust him as my shepherd, knowing that he is working his sovereign will in my life one day at a time.