Hear from Char, a member of the Freedom Fellowship IMPACT team, as she shares her final reflections from a week in Abaco. Learn how saying ‘yes’ to what was asked—even when it meant confronting deep-seated fears of heights and depths—led to a powerful new understanding of peace and God’s comforting presence in the midst of fear.
The night is winding down on our last day here in Abaco. The Gathering Hall is loud with games, chatter and lots of laughter happening all around us. We came here 6 days ago knowing of each other but not really knowing each other. Here we sit now, deep into each other’s lives, invested and deeply connected.
We sit nightly together and work through our Impact journal, crafting our Impact story. Sharing what God is teaching us throughout our day and how our life is being impacted. My theme for this trip was simple, say yes to whatever is asked of me. It seemed simple and non-complicated. To which God said, ‘Wait what I have for you!’
If you were to ask me, what are you the most afraid of? My answer is solid, heights. Little did I know that depth was also as big of a fear.
Throughout our week of work I was given a ladder and asked to paint a semi-high area of the house. Deep breath, I can do this. It was a challenge but not too hard. A bit later, the same person set the biggest ladder we had up and asked me to go up and paint close to the top. It took a few times of going up & down before I finally made it. I gripped the ladder, working up the courage to let go and start painting. In the moments of working through the fear I kept thinking, what is God teaching me? This thought slowly started to bring a comfort. God had me and He was using me. My ‘yes’ to climb the ladder was allowing Him to use me.
Later on in the week, for our cultural day we visited a local spot called the Blue Hole. A hole that is over 300 feet deep of water, literally out in the middle of nowhere. A breathtaking place in the midst of a thick forest. A plunge off a 6 foot drop is all that it takes to have an incredible adventure. Standing over the Blue Hole looking down into what feels like an abyss, I suddenly realized a new fear, depth.
As fears or dislikes kept presenting themselves throughout the week I was constantly reminded that with God, I can do the things that scare me. Saying ‘Yes’ and jumping into the fear doesn’t make it go away. But inside that fear was a peace. A peace of knowing that God is with me. It doesn’t make the fear less, but with Him there is a comfort. It’s left me asking the question, what else is God wanting me to say ‘yes’ to? What heights or depths is God waiting to take you to if you would be willing to walk through the fear and say ‘yes’ to Him? A verse that I have leaned on a lot throughout life and most recently this week, is a comfort when walking through the fear.
“I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your protector; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not beat down on you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever.”
Psalm 121
— Char Segebart
