365 project.

"Nope. No way. Nah-uh. Sorry God. That’s not me."

This is the conversation I had driving today. After realizing a hopefully fleeting idea was actually the voice of God.

One person. Everyday. For one year.

Meet a stranger and have a conversation everyday for 365 days. That seemed like a cool idea…for someone else. As quickly as the idea entered my head, God slapped me across the face with reality. So hard in fact I could only cry out of fear. So there I sat, crying with the task at hand. Saying, “No not me, that was just an idea.” But an idea became a calling that is now a responsibility. But more than a responsibility, an opportunity. A chance to meet real people. A chance to stretch myself and my limits. A chance for others to stretch their limits.

You see at first this was all about me. “God where am I going to meet a new person everyday? Some days I sit inside and eat peanut butter straight from the jar. What if they don’t want to talk to me? What if I don’t know what to say?”

Then I stopped myself and realized my needs were at the center of each question. Or at least I thought I knew what my needs were. But when I put that aside and turned the focus to others, I knew any need of mine would be met through God’s strength and plan for my life.

So. Here I am. Writing this now. Asking for strength. I am taking this opportunity and meeting someone new everyday for the next year. I expect some funny, sketchy, heartbreaking, life changing but nonetheless interesting stories to come from this plan of action. I am committed to meet a new person and have a conversation with them everyday. Now, I’m not sure what that looks like yet and I’m sure it won’t get off to a smooth start but I’ll learn along the way. And I’m committed to writing about each person I meet and our conversation everyday as well.

I’m not gonna lie…I’m scared shitless right now. But I can only take each day as it comes and pray to God I don’t die.

-Ericka Ashley

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”