​We are honored, humbled, and excited to have this month’s Agape Letters writer, Rebekah Castor. She is currently a reporter for WEAR-TV channel 3 in Pensacola, FL. She arrived there after earning her degrees in Broadcast & Digital Journalism and Political Science from Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. She is destined for great things in the world of journalism.
Gregg and Rebekah have known each other for several years, meeting at George Jenkins High School where Rebekah held several high leadership positions prior to graduating with the class of 2015.
We appreciate Rebekah taking time out of her busy schedule to share her heart with us. We pray that you will be blessed.
Please follow Rebekah on her social media sites:
          Twitter: @RebekahCastorTV
          Facebook: @RebekahCastorTV

In 2020, I found myself asking for the first time, “Is God truly good?” I think many of us did. But as the granddaughter of a preacher who grew up knowing who God is, this was the first time I was truly experiencing a crisis of faith. With everything going on in the world, I questioned if the way I was choosing to live my life was even worth it. In the end, would it even matter?
As a television news reporter, I had a front-row seat to many of the tragedies of the past year. Unlike many, I can’t just turn off the tv because it’s my job to stay informed, and while I’m very passionate about that job, 2020 was hard.
Ironically enough (but not really because this was all God-ordained), at the start of 2020, I decided I wanted to finish the Bible by the end of the year. God knew that this was the year I’d need to be rooted in His word the most.
Even in the moments I wanted to throw my Bible at the wall, I stayed committed to my goal and dove in. Jeremiah 29:13 says, those who seek him with their full hearts will find him. I truly called out for God to show up for me and boy, he sure did.

Through his word, God showed me he is exactly who he says he is. 2 Samuel 22:34 says, “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” The Bible also says God is light, God is love, God is our sustainer. I learned to trust in those written words and believe them to my core - truly believe them, and not just in good times. God is unshakeable, and even when the world felt like it was falling apart around me, God showed me that he will always be solid ground. I prayed to have an unshakeable faith in him.
2020 showed me that having just a general knowledge of God was no longer going to cut it. If I was going to have an unshakeable faith, I needed to have a deep understanding of who God is. I recently listened to a sermon titled, “Go with what you know.” It was all about finding peace and trusting in God by looking back on everything he’s already done.
The Bible is an epic story of God’s victories. He sets slaves free, delivers men out of fires and lion’s dens unharmed, heals the sick, and helps his people prevail in battles when all the odds are stacked against them. When Jesus performed God’s miracles, he would tell the people he helped to go and tell others about what God has done for them. This reminds me to think about what God has already done for me. In moments of anxiety, when the future is unknown, I’m now committed to “go with what I know.” What I know is that God is good, a loving and perfect father. His ways are always good, even when we don’t understand. So whatever you’re facing in your life right now, my prayer for you is that you’ll root yourself in God’s word, ask him to reveal yourself to you, wait on him and trust that he IS good. ​

This month’s Agape Letter writer is Abby Ford. She attends church with Dr. Mays at The Rock Community Church. She has made a lasting impact on his life. Her passion to teach led her to leave her career with one organization and pursue a full-time position as an educator Her faith in God has encouraged her to face fears and obstacles head on, with the knowledge that neither stands a chance of stopping her as she presses on.

There are three really powerful things we can learn about our Jesus from this story. The first is that he is never too busy for us. In verse two, we hear that Jesus has started speaking to a crowd of people (Jesus loved to do this so we can assume he was pretty content in this moment). When the scribes and Pharisees interrupt him and bring this woman to him, he doesn’t become bothered or annoyed that her sin has caused an interruption or distraction from what he was doing. He wasn’t too busy to speak hope into her life. That is exactly what he began to do. He immediately started to “speak” into her brokenness and mess. ​

​During the time of 1999-2001, Dr. Mays had the opportunity to meet and do ministry with this month’s author of the Agape Letter. Danielle Rutherford is a person who has triumphed over some of the worst circumstances anyone could experience. Her faith in God has been the driving force in her perseverance, as well as the way she inspires others to press on regardless of one’s situation.
She is a globetrotting superstar who has managed to bloom everywhere she has been planted (stationed in the military). Her support of Agape Leaders is one more example of her selfless desire to help others in any way possible.
We are blessed to have Danielle in our lives and supporting this ministry.
Thank you, Danielle, we appreciate you.

Exile is a common theme in the Old Testament, but it might not seem truly relevant to us today. However, as believers, we are considered exiles of this world. When we look at our lives from an eternal perspective, we know this is not our home. But this doesn’t mean we feel like an exile everyday. For many of us, there are different seasons where we feel our reality as sojourners more tangibly.

As a military spouse, I have moved to amazing locations. However, I have also moved to places that felt like exile. I felt cut off physically, emotionally, and sometimes spiritually as our family tried to find our place in what I deemed as a less than desirable duty station. “Here I am Lord, send me…just not here”. Have you felt this before? It could be a new assignment for a job, changes to your community or location that make you feel like an outsider. How do we deal with this?

One phrase I grew up with as a military brat and still use today is “Bloom where you are planted”. I believe that wherever God plants us, we can bloom or thrive. In fact, some of those places that I felt were exile turned out to be the most amazing and memorable times of my life.

Jeremiah 29 is a Letter to the Exiles. The Israelites were taken captive and transplanted in Babylon. Exile was not something new, and the Israelites knew that it wasn’t going to be a permanent situation because of what the prophets foretold. Eventually they would leave – could be 6 months, a year, two years. I imagine for many, they were intensely longing to leave. “Why unpack? We are just going to leave soon.” is what I imagine many were saying or thinking (I may or may not have said these exact words before).

But God instructed His people to do the following:

v5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”

You might say, “I already have a house!” And, if you are like me, have a track record of killing anything green. However, we don’t want to miss the implication in this verse. The Message version tells us to “make ourselves at home”. Enjoy the dwelling God has blessed you with. Be hospitable. Make your house a home.

v6 “Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too many have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.”

This verse does not mean to go out and get married to someone in your community or marry off your children. What we can take from this is to be relational. Get to know people – love your neighbors. Find a church, serve, and live life with the people God has placed around you. Live a life that points others to God.

v7. “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

We are to pray for our communities and for our country. We should seek ways to help. Get to know the issues – did God place you in your community for such a time as this? Can you use your resources and know-how to help your neighborhood, town, city, state, and country? How can you be a light where you are?

I believe that right now, many of us feel as though we are in exile. Quarantine restrictions and lockdowns have changed how we do many things. For some, this has been a season that has caused increased stress, worry, depression, and anxiety. But remember, God has a plan for us “… to prosper and not to harm, plans to give you a hope and a future” (v 11). God wants us to thrive and to make the most of where we are – not just based on our physical location.

When we are rooted in Him, we can bloom where we are planted.

​It is with great excitement that we introduce this month’s Agape Letter writer, Isabelle (Izzy) Shim. As a high school teacher, Dr. Mays is blessed to meet outstanding young people every school year. Last year he had the opportunity to teach Izzy in his US history class. He quickly recognized her as a high character student, who is on the glide path to success in whatever she puts her mind to.
Izzy is a published poet as a part of the George Jenkins High School literati program. We are blessed to have this forward thinking, hard working young leader share her gift with the Agape Leaders ministry.
Thank you, Izzy, we appreciate you.

My compass has always had the needle facing the pursuit of perfection; my destination to be greater than those who came before me. When you grow up in an immigrant family, there is no room for mediocrity; for that is dereliction in the eyes of those who have endured hardships to bestow on you the privilege of taking such opportunity for granted.  Nonetheless, I allowed my grades to temporarily falter one year and spent my days with perpetually rolled eyes as my father told me the same cautionary tales I have heard since the cradle. Each time the lesson leads to the same word: Lucky.
My apathy eventually evolved to epiphany and finally into a steely grasp of how lucky I truly was. My parents grew up poor and both were first generation college graduates. My father grew up in Jamaica in a family of six and emigrated to the United States to escape an island threatening violence and potential communism. His family struggled to make ends meet, desperately trying to break language and color barriers. The young immigrant family had an emphasis on education but not the knowledge to foster it. Yet he still found his way to the University of South Florida campus; paying his way to a degree in Finance and a dream job in investment management by the age of 25. My mother grew up in California to teenage parents whose young faces earned premature forehead creases trying to keep a roof over their heads. She worked multiple jobs to earn tuition money for Florida State University, where she received Bachelors and Masters degrees in psychology. She is now an elementary school guidance counselor, where she is a bedrock to both students and faculty.
The experiences of my parents shaped me to be a person who empathizes and understands those around me. It is the foundation of how I interact with my peers. I often view events around the world in a different light through the varying lenses family members deeply and personally influenced. When protests began rising up this past summer, I saw the effects in their eyes and through stories of mistreatment or disadvantage because of the color of their skin. My father’s stories of third world poverty and my mother’s own American version of first world perseverance have driven me to volunteer my time tutoring students who are struggling through the lack of an educational role model at home, but also proper nutrition. Living in a home with parents and extended family who have earned every luxury, including citizenship, allows me to view my fellow humans as opportunities for further understanding rather than reasons to judge.

​This month’s guest writer is Jessica Maldonado. She is a valued member of the Agape Leader’s staff. Her presence has enabled our organization to grow and reach new heights.
Jessica is the founder of Viches Niche, an outstanding graphic design organization that can fulfill all your graphic needs. She is also an exceptional 2D artist.
You can see Jessica’s talent on display by going to her website: https://www.vichesniche.com/ or YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJC2Lugw-CQWAhzM-i5qtZQ/featured
We are blessed to have Jessica Maldonado write this month’s featured article in Agape Letters. 

I wrote a blog to talk to you all about my testimony, to share how much God has helped me through some struggles and how God can help you through times of uncertainty but it was more so for hope. And I only hope that in the future, I will be given an opportunity to share it with you.
 
But right now, today, January 7, 2021, my heart breaks. I dont think today would be appropriate to talk about me and I don't want to fill up this page with hope because everyone, no matter good or bad, can have hope. So, I think today, after we watched what some people have said is the darkest moment in history, we need to talk about something more.

When I was eleven years old, I started writing a book. Like most eleven-year-old boys, I lost interest, put the draft away, and lost track of it. But the desire to write a book lingered in the back of my mind. In 1999 I began writing another book, but daily life took over and that one also fell by the wayside.

Finally, in February 2018 I sat down and began writing the leadership book that had been on my heart for years. With the support and mentorship of a friend, I was able to write Practical Leadership: Lessons from an Average Leader. I spent hours writing, editing, rewriting, and having the book read by others to get critical feedback. I am very happy with this book. I am excited because I believe leaders will be able to improve their craft by reading this book and internalizing the lessons within. My goal is to get the book published early in the new year. 

One thing I did not know when I began this process was how expensive it is to publish a book. This is where you come in. With your help, this book will see the light of day. Please join me on this journey by giving whatever you can to help with the cost of editing and publishing this book.

To say thank you for your donation, we have created incentive levels ranging from Copper, which is for $25 donations to Agape, our highest level of a $5000 donation. Each level has varying incentives of appreciation. However, donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Any funds raised above what is needed to publish this book will be used for Agape Leaders or donated to four different scholarship funds: the Jang-Kim Scholarship, the Juanita Mays Scholarship, the Miss Lakeland Scholarship Competition, and the Miss Florida Outstanding Teen Scholarship Competition.

 Again, thank you for taking the time to read this and seriously consider donating to this project. Click here to Donate today! ​

This month’s guest writer is Zachary Gilmore. He and Dr. Mays attend The Rock Community Church (TRCC) in Lakeland, FL. They have had several opportunities to join together in ministry. For those who have known him for years, it has been a joy to watch Zach step out of his comfort zone time and time again to do whatever ministry God is calling him to do.
Zach is a graduate of Florida State University. He currently works with Parker Street Ministries. He also volunteers with the TRCC youth ministry, and he is a member of the TRCC sound team.
If you want to experience Zach’s passion for creating, head over to Instagram and search Outrageously Big Z (@outrageouslybigz). We are certain that you will be amazed at his talent.
We are overjoyed to have Zachary Gilmore write this month’s featured article in Agape Letters.

Loneliness is best felt in a crowd of people. “Best felt” being a bit facetious. In terms of the “best” way to feel such a negative emotion, the “worst” might be considered it’s “best.” In my personal experience, loneliness feels less like being stranded on an island with no humans in sight and more like riding a bicycle on the highway. Once loneliness leeches itself into my heart, I feel like I’ve become un-equipped for their journey of life.
Ironically, people struggling with loneliness aren’t alone. The UK has gone as far to create a Minister of Loneliness to tackle this isolation epidemic among its citizens. Research has shown that up to a fifth of UK citizens and nearly a fourth of all US citizens had claimed to be lonely most of, if not all, the time. Loneliness has been shown to dramatically decrease the life expectancy of a person and often leads to negative health habits such as smoking and drinking; an escape from the crippling feeling of lost human connection.
Many studies have pointed to loneliness triggering a natural instinct to flood our bodies with anxiety. Back in our hunter-gatherer days, our tribe, or community, was necessary to our survival. When isolated, fight or flight would kick in to help remove us from the danger. These days, advancements in technology and society have made small tribes obsolete, but that instinct to escape isolation persists. Frankly, a lot of people don’t know what to do about it.
One Sunday, my pastor spoke on the story in Exodus when The Great I AM spoke to Moses through a burning bush. “I will be with you.” This was peak quarantine, so the concept of “with-ness” was such a passionate desire. I prayed for the LORD to be with me. I prayed for people who would be with me. I even ordered and read the book With by Skye Jethani.
Throughout my life, the combination of being an introvert and having deeply rooted social anxiety has made feeling like I am “with” people difficult. I may be around people all day, but rarely do I feel like I’m with them. I always find myself sitting between two conversations at a table, not a part of either of them, and simply listening to both (this isn’t a metaphor, this happens all the time). People have their own lives and I seldom feel I have enough of one to justify interrupting their’s. My bicycle will just slow their cars down.
Loneliness creates the perfect defense for itself. It’s a monstrous self-sustaining echo chamber. What starts out as a simple desire for intimacy festers into a fear of human beings. That natural anxiety needs a cause. After a while, we cease to be satisfied with the notion that someone forgot to reach out and we begin to wonder if there is a deeper, more malicious reason for the lack of intimacy finding its way to us. This corrupt curiosity often has lasting effects. I will still, to this day, stare at a text I have typed out to a close friend, wondering if our friendship is genuine or some elaborate act of pity. Once caught in the loneliness vacuum, separated from the love of others, you quickly start to lose compassion for yourself. You need someone to blame. How do you think this might affect, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”?
When it’s difficult to find “with-ness” with people, community becomes a burden more than a blessing. Going to church would often just become a spiritual rest stop: I would relieve what I’d been holding in and maybe try to request something from the cosmic vending machine to keep me sustained for the road ahead (sometimes the cosmic vending machine wouldn’t accept my dollar bill, so I’d just try to straighten out that prayer request and try it again). No moment did I receive more conviction than a time I had a vision about entering a tent to find it filled with the presence of the LORD. I dropped my heavy bag of burdens at His feet, started to make my way back into the world and He asked, “Aren’t you going to stay for a while?”
Why wasn’t that my natural instinct? Did I really think I was just being used by Him for some greater purpose that the Creator of the Cosmos had no interest in my presence? This broken understanding of people had washed over into my understanding of God.

This month’s guest writer is Theresa Santos. She is a friend of Agape Leaders, who Dr. Mays first met during the 2000-2001 school year. He was one of her basketball coaches at Seoul American High School in Yongsan, South Korea. They have maintained contact through the years. We are very fortunate to have her writing this month’s Agape Letter.
Theresa graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA where she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. She married her college sweetheart, Zachery Santos; he also commissioned into the US Army where he continues to serve today. They have four amazing daughters
This month Theresa reminds us to “Never say never.” We are overjoyed to have her write this month’s featured article in Agape Letters.

​When I was eleven years old, I started writing a book. Like most eleven-year-old boys, I lost interest, put the draft away, and lost track of it. But the desire to write a book lingered in the back of my mind. In 1999 I began writing another book, but daily life took over and that one also fell by the wayside.

Finally, in February 2018 I sat down and began writing the leadership book that had been on my heart for years. With the support and mentorship of a friend, I was able to write Practical Leadership: Lessons from an Average Leader. I spent hours writing, editing, rewriting, and having the book read by others to get critical feedback. I am very happy with this book. I am excited because I believe leaders will be able to improve their craft by reading this book and internalizing the lessons within. My goal is to get the book published early in the new year. 

One thing I did not know when I began this process was how expensive it is to publish a book. This is where you come in. With your help, this book will see the light of day. Please join me on this journey by giving whatever you can to help with the cost of editing and publishing this book.

To say thank you for your donation, we have created incentive levels ranging from Copper, which is for $25 donations to Agape, our highest level of a $5000 donation. Each level has varying incentives of appreciation. However, donations of any amount will be greatly appreciated.

Any funds raised above what is needed to publish this book will be used for Agape Leaders or donated to four different scholarship funds: the Jang-Kim Scholarship, the Juanita Mays Scholarship, the Miss Lakeland Scholarship Competition, and the Miss Florida Outstanding Teen Scholarship Competition.

 Again, thank you for taking the time to read this and seriously consider donating to this project. Click the GoFundMe logo below to be taken to our page! 

​This month’s guest writer is Bailey Rodgers. She is a friend of Agape Leaders, who Dr. Mays first met as a member of The Rock Community Church youth ministry. As a sophomore in high school, Bailey joined a group of students at George Jenkins High School who committed to pray for their school and community once a week throughout the school year. She was faithful to the group and Dr. Mays has been blessed to watch her grow from a somewhat shy tenth grader to an amazing woman of God who is a force.
An undergraduate of Southeastern University, Bailey now works for SEU. She is also working towards a post-graduate degree as she follows the call God has on her life.
She is married to the love of her life, Mitchell Rodgers. The two form a dynamic duo of ministry that we are all fortunate that God uses them to strengthen our daily walk with Christ.
We are overjoyed to have Bailey Rodgers write this month’s featured article in Agape Letters. 

​Sometimes when I sit down to have a quiet time or read scripture, I have this subconscious mindset that nothing that I am about to read could really apply to me that much. I mean this all did take place thousands and thousands of years ago, right? How could it relate to me?
​
I don’t really know why I still find myself in this mindset sometimes. God has proven to me over and over again just how wrong I am. In the moments when I find myself in this state of mind is when He always steps in and shows me just how relatable, how essential, and how applicable His Word is to my life here in 2020. How years and years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and years and years after the events of the Old Testament took place, the Word of God is consistent, and a firm truth to build my life on.
 
Truly meditating on the Word of God and asking Him to allow me to read and comprehend it with new eyes is when I find that God brings passages of scripture to life. Even if I have read them before, He gives them a new meaning and brings a fresh viewpoint, a new application. All of that to say, when God gives me those little kisses by, what sometimes seems like Him, screaming passages of scripture at me, my mind is blown by just how much I do relate to the lives and circumstances of the people in the Bible. And even more so, I am blown away by how God’s teachings then are the same as they are now.
 
I previously read a book called “The Best Yes,” by Lysa Terkeurst. Life changing. If you are a female and have not read this book, I would highly encourage you to. It is packed full of God’s truth and encouragement on how to live a life with a best yes mindset, making the best decisions in the big and small circumstances of life. Towards the end of the book, there is a chapter where Lysa touches on a passage of scripture in Exodus. It is a passage I have read multiple times (it seems to keep presenting itself to me), and every time I read it, I find myself thinking, “Wow, Moses’ life has some serious truth to offer us!” I mean Moses was a pretty great, Godly man, but again, it is so easy to believe that you could not possibly relate to him because he walked through life so long ago in a much different time that you and I are walking through. But in steps God. I want you all to read the passage of scripture I am talking about so you can get a better picture of where I am coming from. It’s a little lengthy, so I am not going to type it all in this blog post, but you can find it in Exodus 18:13-25.
 
A little background for you, Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, has come to visit Moses. It is a sweet reunion among two men with a great relationship. They sit and chat, catch up on life, and on all that God is doing in and through Moses. Jethro is delighted, they offer some sacrifices, and we arrive at verse 13. These next 12 verses have spoken to me and challenged me greatly since I read them back in January of this year. The first time I read this body of scripture, I found myself using it to point fingers. I kept thinking of all of the people that I knew that I thought needed to read this and really consider applying it to their lives. When I read it again in “The Best Yes,” I realized that I needed to probably stop pointing fingers at others and maybe start pointing fingers at myself. As much as I believe this passage of scripture would be beneficial for others to read, I realized I needed to stop and understand just how much I needed to read it and apply it to my own life.
 
Now, let’s get something straight. I do not have thousands of people coming to me to seek God’s will like Moses did. That is not what I am trying to get at here. I more so want to point out the fact that Moses was doing everything on his own, without the help of anyone else. It had gotten so bad that Moses was worn out, which in turn was not benefitting him or anyone that came to him. His ministry was not as effective as it could have been. I mean maybe I am preaching to myself here, but how often do we find ourselves in situations where we think we can do it all on our own? Where we want to do it all on our own because we don’t think anyone else could possibly do it as good as we do it? That is called control and most all of us have a little bit, if not a lot, of it in us. It comes with our flesh. Now what we do with that desire for control is what can make or break us and our ministry. It is what makes us either like Moses in this story, or not so much like Moses in this story. 
 
Jethro gives Moses some advice and basically tells Moses, “God be with you. Do with it what you will.” He tells Moses that what he is doing is not good. He doesn’t tell him to stop leading the people, but he does tell him how to do it more efficiently and more effectively. Jethro shares some pretty honest words, that if anyone shared with us, my guess would be that we would become immediately defensive. What is so admiring about this story is that Moses accepts Jethro’s words of advice. Jethro explains to Moses that he needs to build other trustworthy men and leaders up under him. That way, Moses isn’t tending to every single one of the thousands of Israelites, wearing himself out, but is building up others to deal with the many so that he only has to deal with the few. Moses leads by leading the leaders, and the leaders have an opportunity to lead the people. Everyone wins. Moses can’t do it all on his own. Moses shouldn’t do it all on his own. And Moses accepts the challenge. That, my friends, is an act of bravery.
 
It is so hard for us to let go of the things that we have control of or seek control over because we don’t trust others. We don’t trust them to help us and we don’t trust them to carry out “our” tasks as well as we do. We are prideful and arrogant in this way. What we need is an act of bravery like Moses had. Not to set aside our tasks, our responsibilities, our callings, and forget about them, but to carry them out in a way that is glorifying to God and beneficial to all of those involved. To humble ourselves so that we can more effectively carry out God’s will.
 
When we find ourselves in those situations where we feel like we are doing everything, where we are so stressed and worn out, we need to do a little self-check. Most of us could agree that we never want to get to a place in our ministry (whatever our ministry may look like in our current seasons of life) where we are so selfish that we think that us being in control is better than leading and pointing others to Christ effectively. But it is so easy to find ourselves slipping into that place. We hurt ourselves and we hinder others. Or we hurt ourselves and enable others into complacency or laziness. We become so burdened and heavy laden, but still manage to put on our happy faces at church every Sunday morning. We shut the help and prayers of others out. We become a poor example of a person in relationship, on fire, and dependent on the Lord. We speak a message that we can do everything on our own power. We don’t need others. We can do it all. We are the only ones that can do it best. We don’t need God.

But God doesn’t want us to do this life alone. He wants us to live in community where we are delegating responsibilities instead of stealing them all for ourselves. Where we are leading by enabling others to be leaders. Where we are delegating to empower others and free ourselves. Where we are freeing ourselves so that we can fully devote ourselves to Christ and our calling, our purpose. So that we can demonstrate our need for Jesus, our reliance on Him, and a life sought out after Him.
 
Now I am the queen of “just doing it myself.” Sometimes that seems like the easier option rather than teaching someone else how to carry something out. Or trusting them to carry it out correctly. However, through experience, I have come to find out that it only exhausts me, takes away from what I really need to be doing, and enables others to not do anything because they know that Bailey will take care of it. She always does. Even if that is true, me “taking care of it” doesn’t come easy. It usually comes with a lot of added, unnecessary stress, and I become a person, a wife, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a leader, a co-worker, and a follower of Jesus that I know is not who God called and created me to be. I become someone that is not effectively ministering to myself or to others.
 
So I want to ask you, what area of your life do you need to allow others in to help you? Where do you need to let go of some control and extend trust? I want to come alongside of you and be brave like Moses was. I want for us to accept the wise counsel that others are giving us, even if it’s not what we want to hear. As cheesy as it sounds, I want us to let go and let God, realizing our need for Him and tapping into the resources that He has blessed us with to relieve us from the control we were never created to have. His yolk is easy and His burden is light. Doesn’t that sound like a much better deal than the heavy burden of control that you are dragging behind you? It’s damaging everything we touch, distorting the path and the impact we are making. I want us to bravely accept that we are beloved, and know that His beloved weren’t meant to do it all on our own. His beloved were meant to bravely depend on God, and trust in His plan, His control, and His provisions. We can’t do it all. We can’t do anything without Him. He can do it all, with or without us. Let Him.

This month’s guest writer is Mary Smither. She is a retired educator from the Polk County Public Schools district. She is a beloved person who lives her life serving others to the best of her ability.
A humble person, Mary was selected by two different schools to be their Teacher of the Year. A lifelong reader, she loved introducing students to literature. She created an environment in which students felt safe. They readily sought out Mary for advice on books, but more importantly, about life concerns.
When Dr. Mays learned that September 11 would be a date on which an Agape Letter was to be published, his first desire was to have Mary write this important article. She graciously said yes.
It is a great honor to have Mary Smither write this month’s featured article in Agape Letters.

By: Mary Smithers

September 11, 2001. A date that almost every American, over the age of 25 years old, can tell you exactly where they were when the terrorist attacks hit our country. The events of that date changed our country, changed our sense of security, and changed our hearts. I grew up with a family who loved their country, served in the military, and passed this love to me. Although we lost no one personally in the 9/11 attacks, we were changed. This was not a tragedy that our parents told us about, this was a life-changing event that we lived through. It made a mark on our lives, our peace, and our security. We held each other closer and knew our lives would never be quite the same after that day.
As I think of this date, I draw an analogy to the “day” that Jesus came personally into my heart. I inherited, from parents and grandparents, a legacy of loving Christ and doing the right thing. This secondhand faith was comfortable and accepted. I went to church, treated others with respect, and tried to be a good person by doing what I had seen my parents do. I thought all was good and that was enough. I believed in God and went through the motions of living the Godly life my parents had talked about. I had not had that moment where I changed; I accepted the faith that had been passed down to me.
All of that changed in February 2011. By this time, I was fifty-six years old; had been married for thirty-four years to the same man; raised two well-adjusted children to adulthood; worked for almost twenty-five years in the public school system; and had been a member of a church forever! I was happy and thought I had it all. That changed when our new pastor challenged us to read a book together as a church. It was called Waking to God’s Dream* by Dick Wills. God had picked this time and this book to be the catalyst to change my life forever. Many of my preconceived ideas about being a “good” Christian tumbled away. I realized I had been going through the motions and doing what others expected me to do. I was a good person, but not a good and faithful Christian. As I read this book one early morning in February 2011, it was as if the Holy Spirit truly washed through my body and said, “This is what I ask of you!” Truly, my heart was calm, and I felt a peace that passed all understanding.
This book has many lessons in it, written by Bishop Wills, but coming directly from God. This was the first time I made a personal connection with Jesus’ teachings.
They were the things that I had been lacking in my faith journey that kept me wandering along the path and going two steps forward and one step backward. Three of the things he said that profoundly changed my life were:
1. Trusting God Enough not to need to be loved by everyone.
2. If you do not have it, you cannot share it.
3. You must be in a DAILY walk with God, believing that he is active now—not just something you read about in the Bible.
I learned that if I am obedient to God by being in that daily walk—praying, studying His word, and doing what I am learning, it doesn’t matter what others think of me because God will love me and give me peace. I must read and know God’s message through the Bible to be able to share it with others. Truly when I read the words in this book, as if they were spoken directly to me, this verse from the book of Galatians settled in my heart, “…It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.”
Instead of coming home and turning on the television to chill out after work, I carved out a specific time each day to “be” with God. I prayed, I read His word, and I listened to Him. Many times, I fell asleep during this time with the Bible or a spiritual book in my lap, but I did not give up! Before I knew it, this time had brought me confidence in my faith. I did not feel smarter than anyone else about Christ, I felt worthy and knowledgeable about what He taught and what He wanted for me. I became a prayer warrior-always beginning with a praise to God for allowing me to know him and be one of his children. As Bishop Wills described, I prayed daily to be a part of what God was blessing rather than telling God what I wanted done and trying to get Him to bless that. I gave my faith and my obedience to God. My heart and soul were calm.
Since 2011, I have ups and downs, but have never been afraid. I relaxed in life and let God lead the way. I accepted my diagnosis of Breast Cancer by giving it to God. I followed what the doctors said and had surgery and treatment, but my “heart never shook” because I had faith that God would take care of me. As life continues with good times and sad times, I find that taking the time daily to pray for others, to thank God, and to read His word, keeps me positive and upbeat. I pray about decisions and act according to what I feel God wants me to do.
Whether people are happy with my decision or not, I know God will not give up on me and I find that my decisions are almost always correct in the long run.
You may not have reached your “9/11” date yet—when your life changes and you can see things in a different way in your walk with Christ. Remember, it will happen when it is supposed to happen—age does not make a difference to God. Be open--it may come from a book, a song, an action, or another person, but it will happen. You are a child a God who is loved beyond belief. I live each day with this verse in my heart, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11


* Wills, Dick. Waking to God's Dream: Spiritual Leadership and Church Renewal. Abingdon Press, 1999.