Happy June!

*Please note this was written the day before I posted it, I'm not just really confused*

Can anyone believe it's June today? I can't. The last month has FLOWN by.

This blog post is a little less educational, and a little less about Canteen Destiny and what we're doing. But the first of the month has had me thinking about beginnings.

This blog is more of a personal reflection, but don't worry. It all connects. I'm not just going off on a random rant here--maybe a little, but bear with me, it won't be too long, I promise.

For those of you who are reading this who don't know me, I just graduated from University, and have been working for Canteen Destiny since April. I was just here part time for the first month, then started full time in May. My wonderful colleague Kelly joined me then. So, it really hasn't been that long since I began with Canteen Destiny on Our Father's Farm, but I've already learned so much. Not only things like how to utilize Facebook marketing, or what permaculture is, or the inner workings of this great organization. Beyond that I've seen personal growth in learning to work with others even better, spending a lot of time working alone and staying motivated with little direction, and learning an entirely new type of role. Even beyond THAT is a little bit of what I wanted to share with you, and I hope it can be encouraging and edifying. After all, Canteen Destiny is all about mentorship, education, and leadership.

James 4:13-15 says "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." I feel like this verse aptly describes my time here at the farm so far. Staring University, I had a very clear picture in mind what my life would look like. Leaving University, I didn't have a clue, and I ended up here! Though I have a formal job description, this job has become way more than I ever imagined, which comes with it's challenges, but also it's joys! Though there may have been frustrating days, and there will inevitably be more to come, I'm so excited about where this organization is heading.

Just like James talked about, each day has had surprises and I've been reminded that though we can have a perfect plan made, God often intervenes and bring along something even greater. Now, I'm not saying that all our plans are in vain. We should have a passion and a vision for our life that is in line with our beliefs, but we should also be open to detours along the way. Our very existence is dependent upon God's will, and all that we do should be an outpouring of the grace and love that exists in our lives because of him. Though we are just a vapour in light of eternity, we have so much power to bring about change in our life and in the lives of others, and I pray that all of us here at Canteen Destiny continue to utilize that power and change the lives of everyone we meet for the better.

I hope something here caught your attention and can encourage you; whether or not you attribute life's up and downs and surprises to a loving creator, or just the universe. I know my motto in this season is going to continue to be the last part of that verse: If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. Nothing I do is in my own strength, but my strength is from the Lord. I hope you can find the peace that trusting him brings in your life.

See you next time.