Thoughts on the Future

I don't know about y'all, but I tend to get really nervous thinking about the future. Or thinking about change, for that matter. I don't like it, I get uncomfortable with the idea of some unknown experience or variable that pops into my short range view of my life. I like the way things are. Most Christians like the way their lives are; they are fine with being comfortable.

But we are Christians, we are supposed to be in Christ and of Christ. We are meant to live like He did. Jesus wasn't comfortable. Jesus wasn't allowed to be comfortable. If He had been content with comfort, He would have never come to Earth to live as a human. He would have stayed in Heaven where He could be Christ in His full glory and power. But instead, in order to save our dirty sinful souls, Jesus became uncomfortable willingly. He stayed awake for days on end, to a point where it became unhealthy, to serve people, to heal sickness. He never had a bed or a house to call His own, he was constantly traveling. He went through torture to save us.

Our modern day society was not the only one focused on comfort. People in Jesus' day were, too. Many people, not just the Twelve, would follow and travel with Jesus, listening to His teaching. But as soon as Jesus said something that didn't quite fit with their idea of comfortable things, they said, "Ooh, that makes me nervous. I don't agree with that, because that would involve me stepping outside of my comfort zone, and that's not okay". Those who were uncomfortable with His teaching left and went back to their families and their homes, where they knew it was safe and predictable.

But we are Christians. We aren't allowed to be content with being comfortable. When we become comfortable, we become complacent. We don't care about what God wants for our lives. We start to forget what God has done for us and called us to do, and that's not okay. We begin to become autonomous, living and functioning freely from the rest of the world, focused solely on our own lives and our ideas of important things.That is not okay.

I'm not saying that Americans and other Western countries are committing a terrible sin by living in a way that the majority of have beds, and a variety of foods to eat, an abundance of clothes in our closets, and a house we go home to every night. I'm saying we as Christians should start being scared about the idea of spiritual comfort. We are meant to be learners of God's Word and of God's Will. Being comfortable means not being stretched, not learning. What is a Christian if he does not grow? We should always be spiritually willing to allow God to stretch us and call us to new experiences and new revelations.

I'll be the first person to admit it, I do not like the idea of going on trips. Vacations are good, because they are planned and re-planned several times, so everyone knows exactly what's going to happen, when you're going to get to your destination, and what you're going to do when you get there (although there is always the possibility of a vehicle breaking down, or of bad weather putting a damper on your happy little group, both of which have happened to me and my family).

No,vacations are great, exciting. But trips that are specifically taken to find out which direction your future is going to go, are absolutely terrifying. My family and I are going to visit two colleges over Spring Break, and two others on different weekends. I don't want to go. The idea of assessing a college and it's campus is slightly overwhelming. Of course after that I have to choose a college. I don't want to have to do that either, because that means that I am accepting the fact that I am leaving my family. I don't want to leave my family, as much as I can't stand them sometimes. They are a source of comfort for me, why would I want to willingly leave that?

Because in order to grow, you must stretch yourself to what you know you can be.

After college visitng, comes graduation. That's a pretty big deal to me. I once thought that I would not graduate, not because I wasn't good enough in school, oh no. I know I'm smart, I'm an accelerated student who did better in most of her college classes than the actual college kids last semester. No, it wasn't because I'm not smart enough. I thought, and I'm sure my parents thought this as well, that I was never going to graduate because I was making choices that would have led me down the path of a self-destructive, homeless drop-out. Had my parents allowed me to stay in the environment I was in, I would have become unrecognizable. I look at the choices those former friends or mine are making, and I cringe, because I would have made those same mistakes, and I would have destroyed my life just like they did. But now, with graduation in my sight, I am reminded almost daily that this was not something that I accomplished; this was the work of my Savior. I shouldn't be here, as a dual-enrolled college student, writing a blog about spiritual matters. I should be the girl crashing at a friend's house because my own parents refuse to support my lifestyle. I should be long gone.

And right after graduation, is Canada. I have gotten to the point where I just want to pack up and go already. As much as I don't like thinking about the future, I don't like waiting even more. I was never a patient person, whether it be waiting in line at a theme park, or on a long car ride, or waiting for my parents to finish getting ready for church. I don't like waiting, because there is always the possibility that you waited too long, and you end up getting there late. (I don't like being late, I loathe it. It is a terrible, terrible thing that comes from being unprepared, and it makes you look like you don't care about everybody else's time. And that's not cool.) I don't even know where in Canada I'm going yet, but I want to go. I don't want to sit around anymore. But at the same time, I don't want to go at all. I just want to stay here at home, and go through the summer with my friends and family like I always have. None of this packing up and being gone for two months, I want to stay here.

But as much as I contradict myself, I have to always, always remind myself that I am supposed to be willing and let God stretch me and grow me into the best person he wants me to be. It isn't comfortable, nor is it always going to be a pleasurable experience. But that doesn't mean you won't be happy when it happens. Because if you are willing to let God move you, and you stay planted in His Word, you will always have a peace and joy about you that won't ever let you go.

Emily E.

A Hard Pill to Swallow

This has been a very emotional week for me and my friends. Our youth pastor and his family, who have been with us for four years, are being called to a different church. This wasn't something any of us expected, nor is it something we wanted. So many questions have been running through my head since Sunday, I just don't know how to take it all in.

On Wednesday in the youth group, he talked to us about where we went from here. What happens now, if you wish. It was so hard not to simply cry my eyes out in front of everybody as I listened to him, because even though it was his last time talking to us, what he said, God had already spoken to me throughout the week in my personal times with Him. And everything he said was hard to swallow. The biggest for me was most definitely to not get sidetracked and distracted when these things happen.

When our pastor announced he was leaving, one thought that ran through my mind was whether or not I should still go to Canada. As many know I am a Senior in high school this year, and I feel as I have some kind of leadership position within our youth group. With that position, I can't help but feel as if I need to stay here over the summer and help the group transition between pastors. But our youth pastor, and my mom later on, said it so truthfully. God has called me to Canada to do a ministry that no one else can do. And if I stay here, I am going to hinder ministry both here at home and in Canada. God will still use somebody else, but the results won't be the same, I will miss out on that relationship with God that is forged on mission trips, and I'll miss the opportunity that God has given me.

As true as that is, it is so, so hard to accept. Which led me to thinking today, what other things to I know in my mind but in my heart I refuse to accept?

What are we meant for? Why are we here? Are we here to take up space? Or are we here to help people? As Christians, we are here to show, share, and be Jesus to the lost people. We are not just here. We have a reason. Ultimately, we all have the same job - to show people the way to Christ. How we do that is different from every person, but is all the same in the end.

WE have a job to do, whether we realize it or not. WE are not here to party, to work, to just live. We are here to live for Jesus.To live in a way that glorifies God, not ourselves. And every day, we should live in a way that reflects the love of the Man who died to save us. Because whether or not we realize it, someone is always watching, be it our friends, coworkers, family, or a child. Someone is watching everything you do, listening to everything you say.

That right there, is something that most Christians refuse to accept in their hearts. But you know what, I determine right now, to accept that, and do live it. It's one thing to say something, it's another to live it out.

One thing that I find really hard to accept, no matter how many times it's brought up, is that according to the world, I know nothing of value, because I'm only seventeen years old. But according to God, I know so much more. Because I'm young, people are watching, waiting for me to screw up.

But what if I didn't screw up? What if I didn't fail? What if I succeeded, if I won? What if I proved them wrong? Then, I wouldn't just be looked at, I would be looked to. I would set an example, be a leader. People would look at me and say, "She's a good girl. She follows God's Will". God doesn't just want me to be good, he wants me to be excellent, to be everything I need to be in order for His work to be done.

Sometimes God, the Great Physician, gives us hard pills to swallow. Whether they be life circumstances, ideas, or convictions, it's all the same. Nothing is going to hurt any less than something else. God's conviction on a sin in your life is not going to be any more or less painful than losing a loved one. And that's simple the way life is.

Still in the valley, but looking towards the Son,
Emily

In the Valley

There are times in your life when a part of your life that has been so stable, so constant for so long, is suddenly ripped from under you. There's no warning, no signs of change; it just happens. Of course, things go on around you without you knowing, but when it comes to light it's so shocking.

When things like this happen in my life, I, like so many other people, begin to ask questions. I don't voice many of my questions aloud, but they're there nonetheless. When did this happen? Why does it have to be this way? Why now instead of later? What happens next? How do I handle this correctly? Recently, a very prominent question I have thought over is, How do I help others get through and transition between now and later? Do I take on the weight of other people's sorrow, do I stand and encourage them? Or do I sit and let everyone absorb this at their own pace?

Whatever happens though, as hard as times become, we have to remember to keep moving. The world is still spinning, the sun is still shining, the seasons are still changing, people are still living their lives. Most importantly though, God is still Sovereign, He is still in control, and He still has a plan.We don't see that plan as he does, but it's there, and He's still walking us through it.We don't have to understand why something happens, we just have to understand that God knows what He's doing, and trust that whatever happens brings glory to Him.

Nobody ever said life was going to be easy, and nobody ever said that there wouldn't be times of darkness. The Bible says there will be times of darkness, when you're in the valley between the mountains, where darkness and fear of the unknown tend to overtake you. But the Bible also says, that though you will end up in the valley, you're not alone if you are a Christian. Jesus walks with you. He keeps you safe and comforts you.

When I look around and all I see is empty darkness all around me, that is when I look up. Because even though I am surrounded by darkness on every side, the sky is never gone. And in the sky, in Heaven, is Jesus. Jesus, who protects me, and loves me, and keeps me sheltered. He is always there, no matter what I go through or where I am. And so I know, that even when everything around me seems hopeless, there is always something better on the horizon. My soul may be in the valley today, but my mind and eyes are on the Lord, who gets me through it all.

In the valley for a moment,
Emily E.

Local Missions: Operation Christmas Child

This past weekend, 12/7 and 12/8, I went with my youth group to Atlanta, Georgia to the Operation Christmas Child processing Center, where they collect all of the boxes sent in from the entire Southeast and sort through them and stuff. We went to help with the process and ended up working for eight straight hours. There were several different jobs, several of which I ended up doing, but I mainly unpacked the shoe boxes out of the bigger boxes (the workers called them cartons). I would take out the boxes, open them, and check for any money placed in the box for shipping purposes. As a result, I was able to see the letters and notes from the people who packed the boxes. Almost every box that came in had a note. We had one carton that was completely filled with boxes from one elderly lady. In the last shoe box, though, she had put a check for shipping, and it was for 39 boxes. Thirty-nine. That's a lot of boxes, not to mention $273 to be paid in shipping.

I didn't keep track of how many boxes I looked through, but I think I unpacked somewhere around 20 cartons or so. So, let's think about this mathematically. If there were an average of 26 shoe boxes in a carton, then:
20 x 26 = 520 shoe boxes,
520 shoe boxes = 520 children,
all who are going to be given the hope of Jesus. And if the children subsequently share the Good News with their family, specifically their parents, that's:
520 x 3, child, mother, father.
That's potentially 1,560 people reached through theses shoe boxes. And that's just the boxes I unpacked for my group. There were at least 20 other stations going through cartons, if they went through 20 cartons each as well,
20 x 20 = 400,
400 x 26 = 10,400 shoe boxes,
10,400 shoe boxes = 10,400 children
10,400 x 3 = 31,200 people who could potentially hear the Gospel.

That's only in the eight hours we worked on Friday. They have been sorting boxes for several weeks before and will be sorting until Dec 17. That's a giant amount of boxes from the Atlanta center. if I remember correctly, there are five (six?) other processing centers in the country. That equals a whole bunch of boxes  which equals an even bigger bunch of people.

What I'm trying to say, is even if you don't feel called to go on a mission trip to another country, there is always something you can do to help grow the Kingdom of God.These shoe boxes you make in your own home go all around the world to give a child a Hope they have never known before. One day, someone is going to come up to you and say, "You packed a shoe box, and I was given that box. Through your gift, I accepted Jesus. Thank you." That makes it so worth it. If you feel that you can't help spread the Gospel where you are, think again. There is always something you can do.

Serving as He calls me,
Emily E.