Trusting God
Michaela Rasmussen, National T.R.A.C.life trainer
At camper registration last July, Camper J arrived by a contracted service after almost three hours on the road. He was living with a family friend who couldn’t bring him but wanted J to experience camp. Our team was awestruck.
J was full of life and bonded quickly with a camp guide named Dan. When he struggled to sleep, J would do pushups and sit ups to make himself tired. He would ask the staff trying to settle him down for the night deep questions about life.
J shared parts of his story throughout the three days of T.R.A.C. He would be moving to a new home before school started in August. When he shared he would move to Lincoln, we were happy about the possibility of getting him involved with T.R.A.C.life. J even told us that Dan was going to mentor him!
Eventually, we learned the only true detail was J would be moving. Finding out he didn’t have a new placement broke our hearts. God began to stir us to action. In our staff room late one night, I remember asking, “What can we do? We have to take him! Who can take J?”
Amy, one of our camp directors, looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, “Omar and I are already praying about it.”
Fast forward to August.
J is now living with Amy and Omar and their son Brady and attending middle school. Little did he know, J was speaking life into his own situation. Not only did he move to Lincoln, he’ll most likely attend the very high school he told us he would attend. His sister, whom he has not lived with in over two years, attends the same school, and Dan is mentoring him through T.R.A.C.life.
As followers of Jesus, we know this was no accident. God’s hand is on J’s life, and Amy, Omar and Dan are there to tell him that every day.
But the road isn’t easy. While Omar and Amy have had some really great moments with J, there have been challenges—battling the system on his behalf, court and other appointments, school adjustments, and therapy. Many days feel like a roller coaster of one step forward and five steps back.
First Peter 4:19 says, “So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for He will never fail you.” (NLT)
When I think of suffering for the gospel, I think of those being martyred for their faith . . . pastors being jailed for telling people about Jesus or young adults being shunned from their families because of their life change. And then I think, “What do I know of suffering for the gospel?!”
Being a foster parent is hard. I’ve seen the heartbreak of mentors who pour into their mentees only to be ghosted the next month. When you’re planning to launch T.R.A.C.life and a worldwide pandemic hits and background checks are delayed two months . . . and you’re at odds with your spouse . . . and there is tension between team members . . . your dogs get into a fight . . . and then you get an email that blindsides you . . . and . . . and . . . and . . . When things are spiraling out of control, and you seem to be under attack, that feels like suffering.
Recently, J’s mentor Dan went on to Tanzania with our church on a mission trip. When he was there, one of the teachers at the Bible college asked if he had ever considered being a missionary.
When Dan said he and his wife had certainly talked about it, the teacher said, “If the Lord’s in it, he’ll bless it.”
Talk about bold confidence and faith.
Well, guess what? THE LORD IS IN THIS WORK of T.R.A.C. and T.R.A.C.life, and HE WILL BLESS IT. Can we all grab onto that bold faith? Are some days going to be hard? Yes. Will the road be smooth? Maybe not. But, will we have moments of breakthrough? For sure. Will God move in the lives of our campers and mentees? Absolutely.
As we trust our lives to the hands of our creator who loves us, HE WILL BLESS IT.
Prayer: Father God, help me keep on doing what is right. Teach me to entrust my life to you, my creator, remembering you will never fail me. Amen.
