Tuesday, November 19, 2019

I’m [still] Learning

I’m [still] Learning

I’m still learning and growing and struggling and living.

Because that’s life.

A little over six months ago I graduated with my master’s and a little later got married. Got a job, a house, even got a puppy! This is it, right? This is what I’ve been looking forward to for YEARS. Forever with the one I love, finally working as a clinical counselor, lounging with my pup. This is “adulting,” right?

So why am I so tired?

I’m still learning how hard my job really is. After years of school and internships, I’m still learning how hard it is to sit with someone and hold their grief. To sit with a high schooler as they struggle with the meaning of life. Sometimes we talk, and other times we play games or color. Because life is hard and sometimes they just need a break and to know that I’m listening to the words they aren’t saying. I’m feeling the anguish they are in without needing words.

I’m still learning.

I’m still learning that marriage isn’t always easy. Life is busy and it’s hard to make time when you both have crazy schedules. It’s easy to be selfish and get mad. Loving is HARD. 

I’m still learning, and that’s okay.

And I have to remind myself that it’s okay. When I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t have it all together and I’m the only one struggling (I’m not). I have to remind myself to slow down. To take care of myself. Sometimes the hardest thing is putting one foot in front of the other. And that’s okay. Sometimes living is the most courageous thing you can do.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Take Five

I was at a job interview recently and was asked the question, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” I understand the intent of the question and responded honestly and appropriately, but afterwards I couldn’t help thinking about that question. If you had asked me five years ago where I thought I would be today (a question I’m sure I answered as I applied for internships and looked forward to my third year at Columbia College), my response wouldn’t compare to my life today.

Five years ago I was living in Gatlinburg for the summer as part of summer project with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ). Part of my job on the team was planning weekly outreach nights for us to hang out with international students who come to Gatlinburg to work each summer. I loved it! I made amazing friends and learned hard lessons, I grew in my faith and got to spend the second half of project working at a cabin rental company. I loved it.

If you had asked me then where I would be today (five years later), I would probably have imagined an internship, a job, possibly moving to a different state or even country to work with kids, and maybe some romance along the way. Grad school? maybe after I get a steady job—I just finished a four-year degree in three and a half. I need a break. Marriage? Let me laugh for a second. There is no one—repeat—NO ONE in my life even interested in me. I know couples have cute meeting stories, but fairytales like that don’t exist. Staying in Columbia?  PUH-LEASE. I can’t wait to get out of here and move back to my quiet little corner of the world or go somewhere brand new (international work is calling my name).

A friend once told me that you make plans and God laughs. It’s now one of my favorite sayings. I don’t think plans are bad, but you have to admit, some (most) things are out of our control.

So, I graduated college. Didn’t get a job. Spent a whole spring and summer working with the youth group at my church and sweating at youth camp (and loving every minute). Went to grad school (you can laugh, it’s okay). Those were the absolute hardest years. I cried and studied more than I ever have and tried to convince myself to quit school at least a dozen times (per semester). I kind of got set up on a blind date, and we got married after graduation in a fairytale ceremony in front of a white gazebo in a green meadow on my parent’s ranch. We don’t have plans to move to a big city or move permanently to another country. 

Instead we laugh a lot, and I cry a lot because that’s what I do when I’m emotional. We play a lot of games (we are not discussing the monopoly game from last night, though.) and enjoy waffles on Saturdays or walks downtown. I’m catching up on rest and reading and waiting on my counseling license. If I dream about where I’ll be in five years, you’ll hear me talk about houses and puppies and babies. Then again, I have no idea what to expect.

This isn’t at all what I expected. But it’s beautiful and I love it.

Love Story

My dad wrote this story for us and I love it's perspective, he gave me permission to share it.

God is sitting on His throne, the angels are moving about, some in worship, some receiving orders and others preparing to do God’s bidding down on earth. One angel, August, seems confused and lingers a bit before departing. God calls him over and asks, “August what is the matter, you appear to have a question?” August replies, “Lord, you know my human, Elizabeth, that I was assigned to many years ago. I’m confused about my orders. There seems to be a conflict, she and others are deeply in prayer about this human thing of marriage, but I have been given orders to shield her from any eligible suitors.”
God smiles as He answers, “August, you are very well aware of the unique preparations I have made for this special girl. Her heart is unlike any other, and I have allowed unusual pain in her life, but I am also preparing a young man and when they are BOTH ready, they will meet and immediately fall in love. I have ordained it.”
“Lord, all due respect, I don’t think that ‘love at first sight’ thing still works. People are so different, they are blinded by the cares and wants of the world, few even understand this concept of ‘love’. I don’t understand it and I’ve watched over humans for thousands of years. 
“Trust Me, August. You will know when the time is right. You have your orders, she will be aware soon and she will need you today.”

Down on earth, in another town, a young couple, Alex and Samantha, are talking. “Alex, I’m concerned about Tyler, he’s a great guy but he’s not dating anyone, he’s not even looking.” Alex looks at his girlfriend and a frown appears on his forehead. “Sam, I know that voice and you are up to something. What have you done?” Samantha innocently shakes her head and says, “I haven’t done anything” and under her voice mutters “yet.” 

Tyler is enjoying his new job. He feels good about his recent financial decisions and life is good. He is very busy, but there are times when he wishes he had someone. He is quite preoccupied with his career and hasn’t given much thought to dating. He has prayed and he knows his parents are praying, but right now he has a lot to do. Tonight, after work, he is hanging out with his best friends, Alex and Sam. He sometimes feels like a third wheel but it’s ok.  

Alex and Tyler were playing video games. Sam took Tyler’s computer and went to the next room. She kept asking questions and Tyler, starting to wonder, went to see what Sam was doing. She had created a dating profile. Tyler argued, “Sam, this is not going to work…I’m not going to waste my money on a dating site.” Sam told him “Calm down, you don’t have to pay anything, but you have to create a profile to look. Let’s just look. A Christian girl—that’s a must. She needs to be smart, so college is important.” After the very first search, Tyler spotted Elizabeth’s picture, “she’s pretty.” Well, saying “she’s pretty” to Sam was like saying “sic ‘em” to a hound. The profile information was limited since Tyler didn’t have a full account, but Sam was not discouraged. Using her stalker techniques, Sam was able to find Elizabeth on Facebook, in fact, she and Elizabeth had some mutual friends. Sam took this as a sign, and with Tyler’s permission, messaged Elizabeth. Then they waited to see if she would respond. 

It was Friday night, Elizabeth had just returned to her apartment from a friend’s birthday party. It was late and she was tired from a long week of grad school. On the way home, August received an important update from his commanding angel. “Whatever it takes, Elizabeth needs to read and reply to Sam’s message.”

As she checked her computer, she saw that she had a facebook message from someone named Samantha. “Hey Girl, I know you don’t know me. And I know that this is going to sound crazy, but I have this friend…” 

“What in the world?” Elizabeth had watched way too many Criminal Minds episodes, and her “Be careful” warning system was at a DEFCON 4 (take a double-look). 

As August looked over her shoulder, he could see the look on Elizabeth’s face. He couldn’t read her mind, but he knew she was backing away from responding.

Sure enough, Elizabeth got up and walked away. August had long ago learned how she often responded to situations. She needed time to process, but he also knew she could convince herself to do or not to do something. He needed to plant several things in her mind, first, that this was safe, and secondly, to stir up her curiosity. About fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth sat down and read the message again. She typed out a response, and finally, she hit reply. August gave a deep sigh of relief. 

Elizabeth and Sam decided to meet—and what better place to meet than Chick-fil-A! Over some chicken nuggets and waffle fries they talked about their various interests and of course, the true purpose of that evening, Tyler. The evening was filled with questions and curiosity. August ate his waffle fries at a table across the restaurant and watched with anticipation.

The next day, Tyler and Elizabeth started talking. After awhile, he asked the question, “Would you like to meet face to face?” She said yes!
The time went by quickly, and just a few days later, Elizabeth and Tyler went on their first date. Some would think that this was the beginning of their love story, but we know better.

August once again was in Heaven getting new orders (things have changed quite a bit since Elizabeth and Tyler started dating). August requested a moment of God’s time. First, August praised God for His perfect plan and for allowing him to see God’s grace in action. Then he said, “I’m always amazed by this thing called love. Where do these humans get it from?”  

“They get it from Me, August, they get it from Me.”



Monday, August 14, 2017

do life big

So I kind of hate summer. I like having free time with family and (relatively) no stress, but I miss schedules and agendas. So I tend to fill up my summers (that is not to say I don’t enjoy the things I fill it with) with whatever service opportunities I can find. This past summer was no different and I loved every sweaty minute of it.

I went to INDIA for a week and a half! It was magical and far exceeded my expectations. As hard as I try, I just can’t find the words to describe my time there (something that is a rare occurrence for me). I soaked in the cultural experiences and asked so many questions! I walked through areas where I could feel the evil around me. I saw absolute poverty and girls who were unwanted. if I could live in India and adopt all of the children, I would (I may yet!). I might die from the heat index, though.

I slept for a week before going to youth camp with my church (whatever possessed me to volunteer to go to youth camp a mere week after flying home from India, I’ve no idea). I was exhausted and skipped a few late night activities to get some extra sleep, but I loved spending time with some of my favorite teenagers. The rest of my summer was spent doing stuff like a Nerf war, volunteering at an inner city mission, and spending time with friends. I don’t know if any of those things (or anything else I did this summer) necessarily changed a life; but I was able to help other leaders and continue building my community while serving.

As summer draws to a close, I’m super excited to be back at my apartment and getting involved with life there, but I’m so thankful for this summer! Someone said, “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” and I am in love with this quote. There’s a certain kind of joy that comes only from helping others. It’s easy to look at life at wonder, “what can I get out of this?” But when you give, you tend to receive even bigger blessings.

There’s a song by Jamie Grace called “Do Life Big” I remember the first time I listened to that song and thought, “that’s what I want, to do life big.”

But what does that even mean?

I think I was in college when I first heard the song and my idea of doing anything big meant spending hours in the library and keeping up with classes (yes, I’m a nerd). If you listen to the rest of the lyrics, you’ll understand she isn’t necessarily talking about skydiving, but rather enjoying life…and enjoying life serving others.


“I wanna love, serve, and give every chance I get…I wanna do life big.”

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Community

         I honestly thought this was going to be a terrible weekend. My plans for the weekend didn’t work out, and I was honestly confused whether it would be better to go ahead and take some stuff to my apartment, have Bible study in Columbia, and hang out with my roommates; or stay home, go to Bible study there, and rest. I finally texted a friend from Columbia to see if she was going to Bible study (I hate going anywhere by myself); she and my roommate were going and said I could go with them, so that kind of settled it.
         I took a lot of stuff back to my apartment, so it took about three trips to unload my car. Of course, on the last trip my apartment lock decided to jam (my keys AND my phone were inside). I’d been carrying stuff back and forth from my car in the South Carolina heat and the last thing I wanted to do was go back downstairs and walk to the office to get the spare key. I resigned myself to what is surely the humiliation of being locked out, and got the key. On the way back to my room, I ran into a classmate. We shared hellos and had a short talk about life and what our schedules were before going our separate ways. As I was getting ready for Bible study, someone texted me. “Your classmate said you were going to Bible study, I’m planning on going, too, and would love to go with you!” I was just about to reply that I had told my friend I would go with her and my roommate when my friend texted me that they only had room for two people in the car. I knew I would see them anyway, and was super excited I was able to go with the person who had texted me (isn’t it cool how God works details out?). Bible study was great, and I even got to talk to some people afterward. I’m not a fan of groups or being around people I don’t know, but because I was with friends, I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone a little more without freaking out.
         I spent the next day visiting more friends and talking over pizza. Saturday I was able to go to the Soda City Market with my friend, explore, and talk over Starbucks; I was also able to go to church with her Sunday and help run a few errands. It’s so easy for me to forget that I am not alone here. I am not an outgoing person—I love people and I love hanging out with friends, but I’m rarely the first to initiate. I am so thankful for this weekend. It served as a beautiful reminder of the friends I have here and it was a huge blessing to spend time with some of the people I love.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Good Friday

It’s the darkest day in history—
When you died there on that tree
And bore our sins so we could be free

Free from the chains
Of sin that held us
Captive since birth, our Lord and Savior reigns

We mourn the loss
Of the perfect Lamb
The One who took our place, once upon a cross

But we look ahead
To Sunday dawn
When the tomb will be empty we know

When our tears are replaced
With hope for the future

And a life, an eternity

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Will You Pray With Me?

God has opened the door for me to travel with Global Hope India on a mission trip to Mumbai, India from June 1-13, 2017. GHI is the product of 18 years of ministry in India, whose work centers on empowering the church in India for the advancement of the Gospel in three ways: leader development, village development, and child development. We will work with local churches to provide outreach programs for students and partner with ministries who work in the red light districts, specifically encouraging them in their efforts to end the sex slave trade.

This is a team project and I need your help! My team and I covet your prayers throughout this entire mission. Please partner with me in praying now, as we prepare for what is ahead, and especially during the week we spend serving in India. More than anything else, I ask you to cover us in prayer that we may be able to make an eternal impact in India.

We also prayerfully ask you to consider investing financially in God’s work in India. The total cost is $3,000 per person. This covers airfare and all in-country expenses. Anything you can do to support this trip is greatly needed and appreciated.



To give online:
2. Click on “Designate this Donation”
3. Check “Mumbai College and Young Pro Ministry Team”
4. Check the “Designate” button by my name/photo in order to support this trip.


To give via mail:
Mail a check to GHI with a slip of paper indicating “June 2-11, 2017 College and Young Pro Ministry Team—Elizabeth Chard.” Checks should be made payable to Global Hope India.
Global Hope India
400 Fayetteville St Ste E
Raleigh, NC 27601



GHI will send you a tax-deductible receipt.  All gifts to GHI are tax-deductible and therefore non-refundable. All donations are used to support GHI and its charitable causes.  

                                                                                          Sincerely yours, Securely His
                                                                                                            Elizabeth Joy Chard
(Cut along the dotted line and keep this reminder on your fridge or in your Bible!)

Pray for Elizabeth’s India Trip!
June 2-11, 2017

The hearts of the Indian people we will be working with and the conversations we will have throughout the week
That each team member will receive the financial support he or she needs
For God’s protection throughout the trip