I am packed, moved and settled back into the place I call
home. On the south side of Chicago, in a small house is where I lay my head at
night. It’s not the safest place but my family and I survive by the grace of
God.
Speaking of God’s grace, I was thinking a few days ago about
how much my spiritual life has grown by being at Olivet and how much I relapse
into bad habits once I return home. How can it be that God can give me such a
lovely place to shelter my fears and allow my spirit to grow and then send me
back to a place where it is all but forgotten? Call it a test of strength or resilience;
I can’t say I know exactly why my life is like this faith-based roller coaster.
I go away and I feel stronger in my faith than when I am in my own home. Perhaps
this is why I have such a big heart for Missions, even though there are places I
can go to and people I can save right here in Chicago.
Just from speaking with my friends and hearing stories from
my professors, I know that going to strange, unknown places is both exciting
and terrifying. I recall telling a friend of mine that I wanted to go to Las
Vegas for a vacation, or even for a missions trip and he swore up and down that
he would never go to Vegas. To him,
it’s such a “sinful” place and it’s a city built on “tempting” people to do the
wrong things in life; gambling, strip shows, and excessive drinking are just
the mainstream things he could think of. I can agree with him on what he said,
however I am pretty sure that if Jesus were alive and walking in our physical
world today, He would go to a city like that. I am also sure that God would send us, His soldiers, to places like
that. I have nothing against Las Vegas, nor do I want people to ever think that
it is a horrible, wretched place to go to. It does offer more than any “regular”
city in the market of “do what you want, when you want, however you want and no
one can say anything about it”. After all, “what happens in Vegas, stays in
Vegas”. That being said, I would still love to go there for a vacation. There
are many shows I want to see, places I want to eat at and I want to do the
whole “tourist” thing.
When I was talking to my friend about his whole “not going
there ever in my life” skit, I couldn’t help but ask him, “What if God sent you
there?” Comically, he just continued, “Nope, I’m not going!” I don’t think he
really took me seriously and quite frankly, I don’t think he wanted to take me seriously because that
would imply the option that he would in fact, go to a place he despised. While
thinking about that when I was at school, I was reminded about the story of
Jonah in the Bible and was thinking about it just a few days ago again. He was
told to go somewhere and ran away instead. As a result, in a nutshell, his life
fell to shambles and ultimately, he went where God told him to go. I was
thinking to myself, “Would I be
another Jonah? Would I be the one who
ran away from God? How many others are running away from God? How many others
are running away from God, but won’t
admit it? I don’t think my friend would be one to actually “run away”, but
he is very stubborn in what he believes is proper for a “good Christian”. To
me, a “good Christian” has God in their heart and uses their heart as a cell
phone with unlimited minutes, perfect reception and excellent call quality to
talk to God anytime, anywhere, about anything. That is all. He knows the
matters of my heart and guides me according to His will. I will go where He
tells me.
On the subject matter of travel, I will be leaving my home
in Chicago and embarking on the journey of a lifetime. By the grace of God, by
the will of God and with His protection I will be traveling to Florida to start
my 7 month internship at Disney World. The more I think about it, the more
excited I become. There is also a level of fear that brews inside of me as I wonder
what exactly will become of this experience. Everyone I talk to about the
internship tell me the same thing, “It’s going to be an excellent experience for
you!” Aside from the job and class aspect of the experience, I know this will
be a learning experience of a different type. I will have to basically learn
how to live on my own in an apartment setting and learn my surroundings from
scratch. I won’t have anyone with “first time living alone” experience to guide
me by the hand or offer me advice. Any advice I do receive will be from family
in Chicago, so that won’t be too helpful while I’m in Florida! I will have to figure
out where the good grocery stores are, find good stores in general, and learn
how to do these things with a whole new transit system, all from scratch. It
would be rather naïve to think that I wouldn’t
have to learn these things, since I am going to be there for the better
half of a year. It seems daunting and I admit that I am a bit fearful of the
thought. Once again, I take solace in that where ever God takes me, He will
guide me through my everyday adventures as well.
I know the basic dangers of traveling anywhere and I know
that there are unexpected dangers that lurk around every corner. However, with
a strong faith I cultivated and a resolute mind to obey the Lord, I know that
where ever He sends me, He goes with me. Even with the everyday mundane things
that occur, I must remember that He will never forget about me.
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