Kendra LeGrand: Alright, everybody, we are in a week five of our Get Out of Your Head
Online Bible Study. It's not the final week, but we're getting close to the final week and
so we are just very grateful that you guys have stuck with us. And so Jennie, I know COVID-19
was something none of us predicted that was going to happen, a worldwide pandemic,
a complete shutdown, and some of us are still experiencing COVID-19 even more so today,
and so I would love to know, what is a lesson that you learned in 2020? Or maybe even now
that you didn't know before the pandemic? Jennie Allen: Well, I think the hardest part for
me, and I know for each of us is different what we've gone through, I think universally, we're
all going through something together and that's bonding, but but individually the most difficult
part for me was just fear of the unknown, of just not being able to control the future for my kids,
who I had one in college and one graduating high school, and were we going to have graduation? And
were there going to be opportunities for my son to even get to go back to college, right? He was home
for a long time. And so I worried about my kids I lead an organization and and we were still trying
to grapple with how do we take care of people, and how do we minister, and how do we serve, and then
the financial repercussions for almost everybody in the world, right? That this has been a season
where a lot of the ways that we provided for our organizations or for ourselves were taken from
us. And so, you know, wash businesses just go out of business all around us, it was so sad and so
difficult. Friends of ours lost their businesses, had to lay off people in the middle of it. So I do
think there have been more difficulties than we can name, but the hardest part for me was just
not knowing it was almost just this feeling of being in a fog, like I, I sit at the helm of a
ship, and I am supposed to direct it, and there's lots of people on the ship, there's lots of people
that I lead, and for all of you whether you lead a family or friends or a small group,
there's that same feeling of just going we don't exactly know how to plan for the future and we
don't exactly know where to go, and all of our instruments were broken, you know, and we're
looking ahead, and it just I was paralyzing. And so what God taught me in that season was,
you know, what, you don't need to know where to go. And and that even saying it's still to this
day it feels wrong. It feels like, well, no, I'm a leader, and I have a kids and I need to know where
to go and I need to know how to help them. And yet, that wasn't our reality. Even the leaders
of the leaders in the world, right, they were confused and saying something different every day.
And I think what God did was He humbled us, and He showed us, you know what,
I am bigger than you and and you don't know what's around the corner. And yet, He also showed us
that He's trustworthy. And if I look back at every single day, you know, I think of Give us this day,
our daily bread. That's how He taught us to pray. When Jesus was teaching us to pray, give us this
day, what we need to get through this day, and I look back at every single day of the pandemic,
terrible days, where we thought we were, we might lose everything, terrible days, where my parents
got COVID and I was so worried about specifically my dad's health, terrible days, where I didn't
know if you know, my kids were if we were all going to make it through this because we were
just there was so much tension in our family. Those days, we had what we needed, and God
provided. Now it's not that I didn't lose sleep and it's not that there was constant peace in
my heart and all around me every day, but I saw Him provide. And I believe we're gonna walk out
of this season with bigger faith, and more belief that God is God, and that we're not,
then we've ever had and that gives me hope. KL: Jennie, I love that you said that you could
see how God had provided for you and your family when you look back during your time as we were
all in quarantine, and maybe some of you are still in quarantine depending on where you are
in the world. But something that you mentioned also was just the fear of the unknown and the
whole idea of not knowing what is coming down the pipeline. And so I would love for you to speak
to the girl whose future feels unknown. JA: Yeah. You know, I think all of our futures
feel very unknown after that. I think the five year plan is a thing of the past, right? We've all
learned like, we don't know what's coming and, and I think part of that's okay. That that is the way
God wants us to live, like dependent on Him and, and wondering and wanting a relationship with Him.
The way that I walk with God is the way that I pray. And the way that I pray is not how
probably everyone thinks of spiritual, you know, maturity, it's actually as I am going.
It is day in, day out, breath in, breath out, moment by moment walking with God and asking Him,
what do You want me to say to this? What do You want me to do here? How do I parent this?
We feel, if we look at our days, we feel stuck a lot of the day right? We feel like I don't know,
I don't know what to respond to that email. I don't know how to deal with this difficulty in
our lives and and God is not surprised by that and what He wants for us is to depend on Him, and not
to make a five year plan, but to walk with Him day in and day out to make the best decision we can
with what we know and follow the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is kind. And it's not always loud,
He doesn't always tell me exactly what to do, but as I surrender to Him and just say, okay,
God, I'm yours and I want this day to be Yours, I want this, you know, problem to be Yours, help me
walk through it, I believe He nudges us and prompts us and and I don't think He wants to
be confusing to us. He wants us to know what to do but it's usually just what to do with our day,
not what to do with the rest of our lives. KL: Well, I feel very convicted one that you said,
make a five year plan. I'm a planner, I love to know what's coming down the pipeline and so
that was really good for me to hear, to just do what's obedient for the day,
right. Just do what's in front of you, and just kind of put one step in front of the other.
And I wish I would have heard that when I was 17, applying for colleges,
and just so confused about what I'm supposed to do with my future. So thank you for that reminder,
especially now that I'm 29. That is always good to remember. And so you mentioned that just the whole
idea of doing what's doing day in and day out, praying, being with God opening His Word, and so
I think you and your book and what your team has allowed us to do through this Online Bible Study
is do just that, the day in and day out work of figuring out our thoughts, or reading God's Word,
or just being in community. And so I just want to say thank you, I know we have another
week of study, but just thank you for providing a resource where we can dig into God's Word and just
put one step in front of the other and just take back our thoughts, which is a really big
and crucial step to getting our getting our life back. So we're very grateful for you, Jennie.
Like I've said before everybody, one of the thing that we'd love to do at Proverbs 31, and
I know Jennie and her team loves it too, is really digging into God's Word. And so as you read this
week and you stumble across Scripture, make sure to stop and pause, maybe highlight it, underline
it, and just spend time with God just pondering on that verse because when you know the truth of
God's Word, and you learn how to live it out, it truly does change everything and we believe that
here. So have a great week of study and we will see you back once again next week.