Defying Odds
By Carla Flores
During these past two years at Mission Adelante, I have learned many new things and I’ve grown in many different ways. From feeling comfortable in front of a crowd, to creating social media posts from scratch: I’m not the same person I was before. I have new skills that I never had thought about before. But there is something I have earned that is far greater than these new abilities: my relationship with Jesus and the hope that He has filled and renewed my life with.
After graduating from Ottawa University a few months ago, I was left with a recurring thought. What was my purpose? This question crossed my mind day in and day out (and it certainly didn’t help that I couldn’t go anywhere.) The longer I sat with this question, the more it grew. Suddenly, I wasn’t only thinking about what my purpose was but I was questioning whether I had a purpose at all. It made me feel anxious and nervous for the future, and my mental health began to suffer. But in this time, instead of wallowing in my own thoughts, I decided to reach out to people that God had placed in my life for support and advice.
I began talking to my close friend, Jessie. I talked to her about my fears and the heightened anxiety I was experiencing due to changes in my life and the pandemic. She reminded me that although there was a giant cloud of uncertainty over our lives right now, God had a purpose for it all. She mentioned that God would not stay still during this time, and instead, He would use this time to uproot and change the things in my life that I was struggling with. I treasured this, and it gave me a ray of hope.
I then shared my thoughts and fears with my boyfriend, Daniel, and he told me something that really made me see things in a different perspective. He mentioned that I should begin seeing life as it really is – a miracle. He shared that the odds of us existing, of us being born, of us being alive are 1 in 400 trillion. If you know me, you know I am fascinated by facts but this one blew my mind. 1 in 400 trillion! For comparison, the odds of having twins is 1 in 250, the odds of being struck by lighting twice are 1 in 9 million, and the odds of winning the Powerball are 1 in 292 million. But my God thought about me, planned my life, created and crafted me, and all while defying all odds. How could my life not have a purpose?
Looking back, I am different than I was 2 years ago when I began my journey with Mission Adelante. I feel an immense gratefulness to Mission Adelante for helping me draw closer to God and believing in me each step of the way. Today, I have a renewed hope that no one can take from me. Today, I know that God has a purpose for my life and that I can live free because He defied all odds. He defied all odds when He made me, He defied all odds when He rose from the grave, and all I can say and feel is: Thank you, Lord!
“where you lost your life, so I could find it here…”