The Animaniacs once sang, “The first day of school, we’re eager little learners, so fill our brains with lots of facts, the first day of school…” Today marked the first start of the school year and I wasn’t in any form of class. Trippy.
This past summer was probably the best summer of my life. I graduated college May 9th. Nine days later I led a missions trip to Uganda, Africa. You can read my previous post, re-capping Uganda, but I can add this: the further removed I am from the trip, the more and more grateful I become for having had the privilege to lead the trip. I learned so much, and the more I reflect, the more I see. It was incredible.
However, if Uganda was a spiritual high point, the weeks following were a definite low. I had thought I would be teaching Bible to Jr. Highers this fall, but two days before I left for Uganda, the school I applied to called me and said there were no positions open. Needless to say, I had no idea what I’d be doing after I got back from Uganda. The day after I got back from Uganda, I visited TMC, to catch up with friends, and on a whim, stopped in HR to see if they had any job postings. There was an opening in the Admissions Department that intrigued me. I interviewed for the job the next day.
The day after that, my best friend Hugh and I drove down to the OC to take two of our closest friends, Brittany and Meisha, out to lunch and tell them about Uganda. We then left to catch a flight out to Atlanta, Georgia, to pick up Hugh’s car and drive it back. We almost missed our flight because we took so long in the OC! It was definitely close…
Spending time with the Jackson family in Atlanta was awesome. They are a family which loves the Lord and is extremely hospitable. They are so much fun!
Then Hugh, Houston, Hampton, and I drove cross-country in three days! So many memories from that trip… but the few that stand out are the differences between my music and Houston’s music, Hampton’s smack talk, the Ozarks at sunset, the continental breakfast at the Day’s Inn in Oklahoma City, seeing the Grand Canyon with the Jackson brothers, and crossing the “Holy Moses” dry-river bed.
The sad part about this time was that I became so focused on whether or not I would get this job at TMC. You see, I loved college. Master’s is the place where I’ve experienced the most happiness. But I began to be consumed with whether or not I would get the job… Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely prayed about the job– I told the Lord every day that if He didn’t want me to work for TMC, then please please please don’t offer me the job. So when I got the call offering me the job, I didn’t have to think twice. I accepted it right then and there.
I started work and it was great. My appreciation and respect for my boss grows every day as I see the way she manages us staff and handles the immense expectations placed upon her. I grow to love my co-workers all the time.
A week after I started, I took my first week off. I had already committed to being a camp counselor for Compass Bible Church’s summer camp Revival. My friends Meisha Preston, Brittany Stewart, Katie Slusher, Missy Fry, Laura Revely, and Ben Blakey were all going to be there as staff and I had been contacted while in Uganda and was asked to help with the high school guys. It was a great week. Britt and I were the counselors for the Orange Team (the Convicts!) and the staff from Compass were so encouragingly loving and Christ-centered. My guys were great and we had a lot of fun. However, even though Revival camp was for the kids and to encourage growth in them, the Lord really used it to work in me. You see, the kids had the opportunity to memorize Philippians 3:7-21 for points for the team competition. In this passage, Paul talks about how he counted everything as loss, as trash, as dung when compared to attaining a relationship with Jesus Christ. It hit me that I had this same desire that Paul had, but not for Christ… I had this passion for the job, not for my Savior. I felt sick with myself.
So I came back, with a new sense of resolve and passion. It’s kinda simple, really. Read your Bible and pray. Every day. Then go live out what you read. Love others. Deny yourself. Pattern your steps after Jesus’ steps.
Over the last few weeks, life has been going great. Sometimes work gets overwhelming, but I love it. I wake up every day knowing that I work for an institution I believe in. Not that there’s anything magical about TMC. I know it’s got its flaws, just like everywhere else. But the Word of God is held high there. The Lord is honored there. People truly love one another and cherish community there. Sin is not tolerated. Most of all, it is being used to change peoples’ lives. It changed my life. So therefore, I LOVE working there because I know I’m helping further an institution that God can use to change peoples’ lives– to make people more in love with Him. AWESOME!!!!
Over the past two weeks, Hugh and I have been able to drive down to visit our dear friends in the OC a few times. We are truly blessed to know these incredible girls who love the Lord and love to have fun… and for some reason, they seem to like hanging out with us. Go figure. This past weekend, we hung out with them and celebrated Labor Day by watching Maverick, 10000 BC, and Aladdin, and by playing football and Ultimate Frisbee in the park and then wrapping it up with a little telephone pictionary. Two weeks ago, we drove down and snuck in their house and cooked dinner to surprise Brittany for her birthday– it was a lot of fun.
So that’s been my summer… Graduating college, going on a six-week missions trip to Uganda, driving cross-country with my best friend, getting a phenomenal job, resolving to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ, sin being pointed out to me in God’s kindness, counseling great kids at a fun summer camp, and hanging out with awesome friends. Life is good.
Bring on the fall.
