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This past Sunday I was listening to Mark share a Bible verse he’s memorising with no notes or prompting as he gave the notices in the evening service. I was so struck by how much this man seeks to be formed by the Word of God and to live it out. Then Dave gave an insightful and vulnerable sermon on Amos five. I turned to my friend Hannah at the end of the service to share how humbled I am to work with this calibre of Christian. “I’m easily the weakest player on the team,” I told her, “But I get to be in their league.” Hannah followed up with a “Yeah, duh,” kind of statement because she’s a big advocate for me and consistently celebrates my strengths and challenges me to lean in.

Years ago, I sat with a different friend Hannah talking about how we were both good teachers on a trajectory to become even better. It would be false humility for me to pretend I wasn’t good at my job for the past decade. By the grace of God, I’m in a role that uses my giftings and stretches me in exciting new ways. I also consider it a grace that I still get to teach young people how to engage with the Bible but I no longer have to mark essays. Instead I get to think of creative new metrics for seeing the fruit of the spirit develop in the lives of my team members and youth group attendees. That excites me so much. It’s a huge privilege to be in a leadership role facilitating the discipleship of youth in our church, and I do not take it lightly.

Then on Wednesday a third friend named Hannah hung out in my office and talked with me about opportunities and invitations for God to use me to share his goodness with a wider audience. I’m blown away by the way God has connected me to so many people who are excited about the Gospel, and particularly how I get to be a part of encouraging transformation in the lives of young people. This is not the life I thought I’d have, but I wouldn’t trade it for a moment. I only ended up here because I said yes to God. This has not been an easy road to get me here, but I’m so grateful for the Hannahs and other friends who have recognised what God has put inside me and celebrated the way that I can serve in God’s name.