New Changes!

Well, today I am teaching myself something new. Exciting, right? Yes and no! I always find it exciting to learn something that I previously didn't know how to do, but it's always scary to me to enter into uncharted territory, so to speak. Probably because I don't normally deal with change very well. I'm learning to accept (even embrace!) change in my life, because yes, obviously, life doesn't stop for those who cannot accept change. But sometimes, when forced to accept I DON'T KNOW SOMETHING (very rare, I assure you.. :) ha!) it can be as swift as a punch in the gut. Like the wind getting sucked out of your breath, I often react like whiplash to change- eyes bulging, throat closing, and with some mild anxiety. (I'm also totally dramatic, if you hadn't noticed by now.)

But then afterwards? When you look back on all that hard work and see how far God brought you through that 'something new' and made you stronger, and ultimately more confident? THAT is what I like about change. I like the follow through- the calm AFTER the storm, or sometimes, how inevitablely great your life can change when you just know something new. Sometimes your life changes and enters into even MORE of a whirlwind- because that change you just experienced makes you now even MORE experienced to tackle something new. And all of a sudden, NEW THINGS are flying in front of you, over and over!

Today I'm teaching myself how to write grants. One of the (many) beautiful things about working for a non-profit is that somewhere, somehow, SOMEONE is always looking to give out money. Non-profits work for the people and are supported by the people, and often, this can be detrimental to specific causes these organizations are trying to implement. It can be so limiting to know you want to do SO MUCH GOOD, but you are limited by money. I've been learning recently that if you look in tiny corners of small private organizations or large openings at bigger companies, that there are TONS of opportunities for organizations like Christian Endeavor - Mid Atlantic to benefit from someone's generosity.

I have never written a grant in my life. Sitting down to tackle this task is GINORMOUS, and actually, kinda scary. Knowing that the end result of what I produce is going to be read by people who dictate where good, generous money goes is daunting. So this morning, I did have a minor panic attack. (Probably didn't help that I had about three too many cups of coffee...) Because I felt unqualified.

Then I reminded myself that I'm NOT unqualified. While I might not have any direct experience in writing grants, I KNOW Christian Endeavor. I know the passion that you can just FEEL when you walk into the office doors- literally, you can just feel the excitement that everyone who works here has for teenagers and young adults learning to be leaders for Christ. And if I can portray even an iota of that feeling?

We're going places, and I'm excited you've jumped on for the ride. Tell me: what have you done recently that you didn't think you could do?