God's Provision

Looking back, I would have never expected that Teen’s Conference 2020 would go virtual, or that REC team would only be able to serve in person for 1 day. We went through a lot of struggles and had to overcome a lot of obstacles, especially on the 2 days before the conference actually started. But regardless of all that, I can honestly do nothing but praise the Lord.

With regards to TC, I have served in multiple ministries, from SMU all the way to Media. But I guess the thing that was really different about Rec was how everyone who was there had to sacrifice time from their very busy schedules to be there. I had to sacrifice time to serve in high school too, but this was really different. For me, if I wanted to make it out to the REC training, I would have to set aside 5-6 hours every weekend, just for transit. So walking into training knowing that many of the other people there had done the same thing was already a really big encouragement. However, none of this would have been possible if it hadn’t been for God’s provision.

Something that I really enjoyed about Rec was also how it allowed for me to really stretch the limits of how much I truly trusted God. As the date for TC was set, I realized that me volunteering at TC would cause me to miss an entire week of school. I know that that sounds like a dream, but falling behind on a week’s worth of classes can set you back for weeks (depending on the course). So something that I began to pray about was God’s provision. I kept on trying to think of ways that God would pull through, but in the end, I was constantly reminded that our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8). And because of that, I continued to pray day after day that God would provide. And God did. I’m sure that you all know that during the week of TC, all the universities (and schools) closed for a week, and Waterloo did too! This was something that I had not even considered, yet God had shown His power in such a mysterious way.

I guess to wrap up this whole reflection thing, I want to talk about what it means to have No Rival in my life. Throughout this school year, I’ve been able to see how much God has been working in my life. Whether it’s been in school, Teen’s Conference, and even finding community. I’ve come to experience the idea that God has a wonderful plan in store for each and every one of us and nothing, not even things like our sin and shame can stop that from coming to fruition. In contrast, before Teen’s Conference had started, the theme of No Rival was just a thought, one was real but didn’t really feel real… I’m not sure if you understand what I mean, but after Teen’s Conference 2020, the theme felt so… alive, so full of life. And being able to experience God working on such a large scale was… incredible. Even now, I’m struggling to put what I’ve experienced into words follower of Christ. Through TC 2020, I was able to see what a blessing it is.