For Such a Time as This

Hi friends! It’s currently Thursday when I am writing this, and this Saturday, I have the opportunity to speak to my fellow Terry Scholars at the annual Terry Scholar picnic. Every senior gets one minute to share their future plans and what the Terry Scholarship has meant to them. 

I take any opportunity to speak publicly very seriously. I know that the tongue has the power of life and death. My first opportunity to speak publicly was at Fields of Faith my junior year of high school. My sister and I had just gotten really serious about our relationship with God. He was slowly transforming us into who He called us to be. At the time, though, we were so quiet and timid. People didn’t even know we were Christians. 

When I reached out to the coach in charge of Fields of Faith, he was excited and surprised. Although I saw my shy personality as a weakness, the coach said that because I was quieter, people would be more willing to listen to what I had to say- because they knew it had to be important if I (who barely even raised my hand in class) was willing to stand in front of 300 people and profess my faith in Christ. 

I honestly can’t believe I did that. I received many words of encouragement following that night. Little did I know I would have another opportunity to share my faith on my graduation night when I delivered the Valedictory address. That night, too, was one of my favorite moments thus far in life, as I knew I had completed the work that Christ had asked me to do. 

Now, I face another moment. However, this moment feels a lot more challenging than the previous two examples. Probably because I will be speaking as an individual rather than as “one of the twins”. Yes, most of the scholars know I am a twin, but Bailee won’t be there with me to be a sounding board, to calm my nerves, or to deliver a similar speech with the same subtle spiritual message right behind me. 

I have known this moment was coming for a long time. Even before becoming a Terry Scholar, I promised God that if He allowed me to get this scholarship, I would give Him all the glory. Once I became a scholar, I truly desired to impact my peers with the love of Christ. 

Ever since my first Terry picnic (and honestly before that), I have thought about what I would say when it was my turn to have the microphone. Unfortunately, I only have one minute, so my prayer going into this weekend is that everyone under the sound of my voice will experience God. And if not right in the moment, I pray that a seed would be planted in their hearts and that other people would come after me to water it. I pray that the Holy Spirit will speak the words that I don't have time to say. I pray that my one minute of speaking will have eternal significance.

The truth is that long before any of us were selected to be (or not to be) Terry Scholars, we were chosen by the Creator of the Universe. 

Writing this speech has caused me to reflect heavily on Who brought me here in the first place.

Who picked me up out of the pit of anxiety and insecurity?

Who orchestrated specific events in my life that led me to Texas A&M to major in nutrition and minor in psychology?

Who made it possible for my sister to room with me in the Terry dorms at the very last second?

Genuinely, I cannot take credit for any of this. For some reason, God saw fit for me to be a Terry Scholar and has used this title to imprint the following message on my heart:

Much like the Terry Foundation paid for my college, Jesus paid the price for my sins. 

And much like the Terry Foundation believes in me, so does God. 

God has done amazing work in me this April. My challenge for you is to seek God and allow Him to grow your affection for Him. He not only wants to be a part of your mountaintop moments, but also the mundane moments of everyday life.

*****

I just got back from the Terry Scholar picnic, and it went so well. I had a good hair day (I literally prayed about this hahah), my speech went well, and I got to spend time with some of my best friends. Some really special and also silly memories were made today that I will look back on fondly for the rest of my life. I have a lot of reflecting to do regarding my time as a Terry Scholar, but for now, here are a few things I was thinking about on the bus ride home:

• Beauty is fleeting.

• Nothing external can fill the God-sized hole in your heart.

• Everything is temporary.

• Release your expectations, and allow God to use you the way He wants you to. Anything else just leads to disappointment.

• It's not about the eloquence of your words, but the sincerity of your heart.

• God loves you enough to not give you what you want because He knows what you need.

• Nothing in life is perfect, but you can always sift through your circumstances to find the gold.

• The people who are meant to be in your life will be.

• When you are aligned with God, He strengthens you & shines through you- every single time.

• It's not your job to monitor what you left in God's hands.

• You don't want your story; you want God's. Trust!!

• It's okay to not know why God did or did not allow something to happen. Let Him show you in time. When you get to Heaven, your biggest disappointments won't stand a chance against the glory of God.

I'll be honest; after hearing some of the other Terry Scholar speeches, I felt a little insecure about mine. I started questioning if I shared the gospel enough in my speech and if my words had any impact. As I sought the Lord in the midst of these feelings, He reminded me of the book of Esther, which I've been reflecting on lately.

According to my Bible, "God is never mentioned in this book, but his sovereignty and plan are evident." This provided me with a lot of comfort. I also remembered the words of a Sunday school teacher I had growing up. He knew that a lot of us in the class were more timid, so he encouraged us that we can share our faith with our actions just as much if not more than our words. In other words, we don't always have to come right out and say we are Christians, but we can let our lives be reflections of His love. I think my speech was a reflection of this concept, and hopefully, my fellow scholars enjoyed hearing a little bit more of my story.

I then got a comment on my post about the picnic from an alumni Terry Scholar that read "loved your speech today breanna!" These words mean a lot to me, especially since I remember the speech that she gave when she was a senior and I was a freshman. What a full-circle moment.

Let this be a reminder that anytime you step out and do something in faith, the enemy will be right there, waiting to remind you of everything you did wrong and all the ways you fell short. However, the Lord will be with you before, during, and after your act of faith, and He'll whisper words of wisdom to you along the journey. Listen to Him and the people who love you most.

Here is a link an Esther bible study I watched this week!

Also, I came across this post the other day and thought I would share. The "He" is referring to God!

Time to pass the pen to my sister! Hope you've enjoyed my posts this month. I know I have enjoyed writing them.

Love,

Breanna Chavez