cru : a caring community passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ

Needing to Be Carried

Elizabeth and Marybeth talk with people about Jesus in downtown Orlando and learn that they cannot do it on their own. Photo by Tina Meyer

iwitness from osp

• 6/18: God Conquers Fears
• 6/25: Mullet Wigs and the Power of Investing Well
• 7/02: My Experience at the Red Carpet
• 7/09: Relinquishing the Torch
• 7/17: Needing to Be Carried
• 7/23: Praying Big
• 7/28: I Thought I Knew Them
• 7/31: The Language of Friendship
• 8/01: The End -- or the Beginning?

Thursday, July 17

A fellow OSP intern named Marybeth (above) and I wove in and out of the crowds on a hot Saturday in July. We were at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando to talk with people about Jesus and we had plenty of choices. Every inch of lawn was covered by blankets and chairs, families and couples, picnic baskets and coolers.

We only had to choose one person, one couple, or one family. As I stood surveying the mass, my stomach twisted into knots. I was ready to back out, grab some cotton candy and blend in.

My legs were aching to turn back, but God was tugging at my heart. All I could do was pray, so I did. And I immediately felt peace flood back into my anxious heart.

Per our agreement beforehand, Marybeth chose the person, and I was to initiate the conversation. As we walked toward the guy on the grass, my heart did not even quicken its pace.

With the introduction over, we sat down on the grass with Sam and showed him the Soularium cards, an evangelistic tool we use to start spiritual conversations. I was still stunned that we had not been rejected.

Half an hour later, we were still talking with Sam. I asked him to find a picture among the cards that described his relationship with God. He pulled out a photograph of a bird being held in someone's hands.

He said that you can always walk or run through life, but sometimes, God just needs to carry you. It wasn't until I was saying goodbye that I realized the depth of what he had said.

That morning I thought I had everything in order, but during the outreach, I realized that I had needed God to carry me. On my own, I had not been strong enough to even stomach the thought of getting out of my comfort zone.

Now it was over, and I was still alive. Nothing had harmed me. What had terrified me in the first place?

At the end of the outreach, the interns had initiated 36 conversations and 3 people had indicated a decision to become Christians. And God had carried every one of us.