{"id":5553,"date":"2019-06-15T11:11:13","date_gmt":"2019-06-15T19:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.touchalifekids.org\/?p=5553"},"modified":"2019-06-15T11:11:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-15T19:11:13","slug":"on-the-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/on-the-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5559\" src=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/lanai-blog-banner.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"220\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I am on the edge of something that demands my attention. Have you been there? The edge is an uncomfortable place. It requires a leap of faith or backing up, because living there isn\u2019t a viable option. When I was asked to prayerfully consider taking a trip with a select few on a vision trip to visit Touch A Life\u2019s Care Center in Ghana, my heart leapt at the opportunity. This would be something that would fulfill a 13 year dream: going to Africa and searching out a calling I\u2019d felt at 16 years old. However, my reality told a different story.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5557 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Unknown-6-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/>Due to recent changes in our family\u2019s dynamic, my team leader insisted I seriously consider raising support for my travel expenses, which was the LAST thing I wanted to do. She shared something that TAL\u2019s Co-Founder Pam Cope had said to her in the beginning conversations:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cYou just need to get your feet back on African soil and watch what God shows you there. He provides big time. Just go, you\u2019ll see.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>With these words on replay in my head, constantly shuffling through my day, I strategically began sharing my story. I told of my hopes and insecurities, and I watched God multiply my simple ask. Before I knew it, the funds were raised, I was on a plane, and my feet landed on African soil. I breathed Ghanaian air, listened to Ghanaian noises, fell in love with the Ghanaian time, the people; I fell in love with myself and the clarity I had there.<\/p>\n<p>In America, again, I am waiting for things to come into focus, continually asking God what, when, where, HOW? I\u2019m bringing my open heart, hands open to give and receive as I wait for him to reveal his plan. I don&#8217;t know how it will happen, I don&#8217;t know what will develop, but I know my heart will NOT rest until I\u2019m there.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5554\" src=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Unknown-1-1-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"275\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5556\" src=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Unknown-3-1-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"275\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-5555\" src=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Unknown-2-1-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"275\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>As I&#8217;ve slowly reacclimated back home I\u2019ve realized a few things:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>God meets us with abundance when our hands are open to receive AND give that gift away. I realized that I left a piece of my heart in Ghana that I can\u2019t get back. There\u2019s work there I can\u2019t walk away from or ignore. What felt like a great divide prior to going doesn\u2019t feel all that great any longer. A standard Starbucks drink per day can pay for an education sponsorship. Not all that much separates us. We all have the same needs. Meeting them isn\u2019t the challenge\u2014it&#8217;s putting the face and the story together that changes our hearts.<\/p>\n<p>I realized I have a responsibility to these kids as well as to MY kids in America. It\u2019s my job to share, to open my mouth and speak for the kids without a voice. I can\u2019t stay quiet. I can\u2019t unknow or unsee their faces, unlearn their stories. Our family has two biological children, and what I know is that the TAL kids feel like my own kids; they hug the same, smile the same, play the same, learn the same. We aren\u2019t all that different. I can\u2019t take any of them home with me, but I can continue to support the work and efforts there, to make Ghana better, one person at a time. I can get my feet back on African soil as often as possible. I can tell the Touch A Life story link to Our Story page. I can keep asking God what my role is and to reveal himself to me through this work.<\/p>\n<p>This is just the beginning. Would you consider giving? Going? Learning more at TouchALifekids.org . When hard things wreck us, there\u2019s a beauty that rises from the wreckage, a remaking. Lean into it. The way out is through.<\/p>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/TouchALifeKids.org\/Give\">TouchALifeKids.org\/Give<\/a> to find out more about how you can make a difference in the lives of these children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I am on the edge of something that demands my attention. Have you been there? The edge is an uncomfortable place. It requires a leap of faith or backing up, because living there isn\u2019t a viable option. When I was asked to prayerfully consider taking a trip with a select few on a vision [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[38,40,32,35],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>On the Edge - Touch A Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/touchalifekids.org\/on-the-edge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On the Edge - Touch A Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; I am on the edge of something that demands my attention. 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