What if we all said “YES”?

What if…

(A personal reflection by Ivy Chapel Moderator Sarah Heend, presented during worship on Sunday, January 30.)

What if we all said yes more often? To requests for help at Ivy, in the community, from our families and friends? From God? What if we looked at new situations as opportunities instead of obstacles? How much would we grow emotionally and spiritually? Personally, this is something that is very hard for me, but I have tried to do it here at Ivy. Or rather I have been pushed by God to do it, sometimes gently, sometimes not so gently.

Looking back to when we joined Ivy, 10 years ago, I never could have foreseen that I would have volunteered to speak today. Just making an announcement before worship used to make me lose sleep. Some of you know how much it cost me several years ago to lead the closing for Vacation Bible School, which meant I was talking in front of the parents as well as the kids. It took some hard praying and a lot of reassurance from many people for me to get up there. But I learned so much about myself, and what I could do that July week.

That led to opportunities to help with the fundraising dinners, to join the choir, and so much more, including accepting the role of moderator when I was asked last fall. It hasn’t been easy to listen to the voice that tells me to accept the challenge. I have spent lots of time praying and worrying, in the middle of the night and all throughout the day. But in the end I have overcome my hesitation, which has allowed me to get so much out of my experiences; it has been worth all the sweat and tears over the years.

If I had said, “No,” to these opportunities I would have missed so much. I would have never realized that I could really do it. I never would have joined the choir and had the opportunity to expand my spiritual growth through music. In the past my anxiety held me back from some things that I wanted to do. And other things I never had the courage to even dream about. When I said, “Yes” to these requests, these calls from God, I was rewarded beyond my expectations. No it hasn’t been easy, and no I am not free of my anxieties about new situations, but it is all a journey. A journey that I am glad I started. A journey I want to continue.

What if we all said, “Yes” more often? Yes to each other, yes to opportunity, yes to God?