I know I’m not the only one whose napping game is strong on Sundays. I personally believe that God has placed an extra anointing for naps on this glorious day. I mean, you get up early, drink coffee, go to church, go home, eat, pass out for an hour or two, wake up, drink more coffee, eat, watch sappy movies, etc. In my opinion, it makes for a perfect day, especially if you throw in a little afternoon rain shower.

Well, I had one of those days recently where my nap vibe was uber strong and putting up a good fight with some plans that were made a while back. All I really wanted to do was go home, unpack my bags from a weekend of double dog-sitting duty, and catch all the z’s I lost and them some. But my roommate, Kenetra, was hosting a Family Fall Fun event at a garden area downtown so I wanted to go and give my support. That means I had a choice to make... Sleep or support? This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make that day. That really shouldn’t be a difficult decision, but for someone like me who covets their designated nap time, it was.

Now, you’ll be glad to know that my support side won and I went to the event. And as tired and ready for a nap as I was, I was so glad I went. I know to most people it probably didn’t look like much, but God ended up using it to say a few things to me and putting me in my place at the same time.

You see, my roommate is ALWAYS doing something. Worship nights, game nights, meetings, get togethers, impromptu parties... you name it and she has either done it or is planning to do it. And before today, I might have just seen it as her keeping busy while trying to head in the direction that God has planted her feet in. I say “trying” because this girl has had some serious trials in her life. Some of which she is currently walking through. And, yes, I know that everyone has trouble and trials to walk through, but not everyone is able to walk through them with the grace that she does. Then she does it with a smile wider than the Mississippi River on her face. I have watched this girl be dealt bad hand after bad hand and not once has she folded. She has wanted to, a lot, but she keeps bluffing, staying in the game, knowing that her royal flush is on its way.

So, today, as we sat and listened to my roommate and some friends lead us in some amazing worship time, God moved. This little garden area that we were in is in the middle of a not-so-good area of Lafayette. Crime, drugs, bars, etc... and we were worshipping Jesus without a second thought. As we did our thang, a group of strangers were walking by and decided to stop and ask what was going on. My roommate and a few others went over and talked to them, gave them food, and told them to stop again on their way back home. Sure enough, maybe 20 minutes later, they came walking by and stopped to talk again. Now, I don’t know what their conversations consisted of, but I heard what God was saying to me. We weren’t just singing his praises in this garden. We were planting seeds and trusting Him to water them. We don’t know what will come next for these people, but we do know that God can use this moment to take them on a journey of their own. I took this picture as a reminder.

After they left, I sat back down in my chair, looked up at the beautiful sky, and suddenly realized why we were there. I know that might sound silly. I knew why we were going to a downtown garden that I had never heard of, but I hadn’t fully realized it until this moment. When I brought my head back down and looked straight ahead, I saw my roommate talking to people and immediately saw her faithfulness. I’ve always known that she was a faithful person, because I’ve watched her walk it out. But this time, I actually saw it on her like it was a piece of clothing.

This girl, who has every right to be mad at the world, even at God, but chooses not to be, is saying YES to God, over and over again. All of these events she’s always doing aren’t to keep her busy. They aren’t to put on a show to make herself look good. They aren’t ways of making a name for herself. God has given her a dream and some instruction on how to get there. All of these events are her taking that instruction and running with it. She says YES and immediately takes action. I rarely see her hesitate. She is a dreamer, yes, but she is also a dream chaser.

How often do we dream of things for our lives, but never let them go past just that, a dream? But God doesn’t give us dreams to tease us. He gives us dreams so that we have something to reach for, to keep us from spinning our wheels in the mud, exhausting ourselves and getting absolutely no where in the process.

I know it’s hard to go after something that seems impossible, but it’s always worth it. And I believe that God puts the Kenetras in our lives as reminders that nothing is without purpose and nothing is impossible for Him. And He is always faithful to prove it.