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A THS Volunteer Testimony
Feb 14, 2021
When I first heard of Total Health Spokane (THS), I thought the concept was interesting, but I wasn’t ready to commit. I had just started my massage therapy business in Virginia Beach, and I was dedicated to its success. It wasn’t that mission work wasn’t important to me; that was one of the main reasons I became a business owner—I wanted the freedom to go on mission trips whenever I wanted without worrying about approval for time off. However, a year-long commitment seemed like too much of a sacrifice. God sure had other plans for me!
Before too long, both my business and other place of employment closed due to the pandemic. Life wasn’t terrible; however, I didn’t really have a purpose. I was surviving, but I was not thriving, and this went on for a while. Frankly, it was a frustrating time in my life.
Then I was truly introduced to Total Health Spokane in April 2020. As I learned more about this organization and spoke to the leaders, I was impressed to join. Within a month of conversing with the leadership, I sold what I could, gave away even more, packed what was left, and said goodbye to Hampton Roads. By the following month, I drove across the country and began my new life in Spokane, WA, one of the top post-Christian cities in America.
I have learned so much since moving here in June 2020. I’ve been trained to assist in the church’s media ministry. I’ve helped plant shrubs, lay sod, build a retaining wall, and pull a LOT of weeds. I was reintroduced to camping, taught how to canoe and kayak, and even started my own container garden. I’ve transitioned to a plant-based diet, and I have learned to make delicious plant-based meals (or so I’ve been told).
But life here is about more than what I’ve learned. It’s about service. I joined a group of individuals from around the country who have also sacrificed a year of their lives and have dedicated this time to serving God and this community. We participate in beneficent work in the area, we utilize our spiritual gifts, and we provide health coaching, thereby improving our clients’ quality of life.
Where I once drifted through life, I am now grounded. Where I lacked purpose, I now have a vision for the present and the future. Where I was once stifled and repressed, I am now able to funnel my knowledge, creativity, and even my sass (talk about a miracle!) into a ministry whose mission and values align with mine.
Life is not without its challenges, but Total Health Spokane has provided me with opportunities for growth and the knowledge and means to help others that I lacked beforehand. Furthermore, I am closer to God than I have ever been in my life, and I find joy and fulfillment in my work for Him.
I desperately want others to share in what I have gained from this experience of submitting to His will. This is not the trajectory that I saw for my life; however, exchanging my dreams for God’s noble call to ministry was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Truly, this is the extension of my commitment to forsake this world for Christ. In comparison to all He has done for me— choosing to leave heaven and the presence of His Father to dwell on this sin-filled earth and die the most miserable death because of His love for His Father and His love for us— sacrificing a year of my life feels miniscule; yet the rewards that He has heaped on me for obeying Him are tremendous and of eternal value.
I pray that you too will follow God’s path for your life. Harden not your hearts against God’s call, my friend. Serving Him is too precious a gift to lose for the transient things of this world.
