"Here I Am, Send Me" – Rita’s Crossroad

Here is a tender Maple Lane devotional moment featuring Rita Logan, shaped around Isaiah 6:8—where she stands on the edge of a bittersweet season, not sure where the road leads, but slowly choosing to trust the One calling her forward.

🌿 Maple Lane Devotional Moment

"Here I Am, Send Me" – Rita’s Crossroad

The front porch swing creaked as Rita Logan traced her finger along the fraying edge of the acceptance letter in her lap. The one from the big university her best friend Georgia called a “dream school.” It should’ve felt like a golden ticket.

But dreams sometimes come with dollar signs.

Inside the Logan home, her mom was humming over a bubbling pot of lentils—comfort food and frugal planning in one. Her dad had just left for his second shift at the hardware store. And Rita knew, deep down, they couldn't afford this.

Not without help they hadn't received.

Not without sacrifice that felt too steep.

The mail that day had also brought a second envelope, smaller and local—a program at the community college just a few blocks from the Maplewood Library. They offered a full ride for leadership and creative service. She could keep her job at the Rec Center, stay close to family, maybe even help Pastor Ben’s youth team like she had been dreaming about quietly for months.

And yet, as the breeze ruffled the corner of the college flyer, Rita blinked away a tear. Everyone else was going. Everyone else had a plan. She felt… behind.

Alone.

Left out of the race.

She opened her Bible, unsure what she was even looking for. Her finger landed gently on the verse she had underlined during youth camp two summers ago:

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’” – Isaiah 6:8

Her breath caught. She had forgotten this verse. Forgotten the fire in her belly when she first read it. Forgotten the way she'd whispered it in the dark under her bunk bed that night, believing God would one day call her to something—even if it didn’t look impressive to everyone else.

Maybe this was that moment.

Maybe it wasn’t about the name on the degree but the name she carried within her heart.

She picked up the second envelope again. Full tuition. Mentorship. A leadership track that let her serve locally while learning. The call wasn’t glamorous.

But it was clear.

And it was hers.

Just like an apprentice standing at the edge of a cliff with nothing but a small satchel and big faith—Rita didn’t know what the road ahead would look like. But she didn’t have to. She only had to answer the call.

She closed her eyes, tears slipping down her cheek—but this time, they were laced with peace.

“Here I am,” she whispered to God, the same porch swing under her and the same sky above. “Send me.”

And the wind caught the edges of both letters—like wings.


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