"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law... And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light... clothing ourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ." ~Romans 13
If there is one thing that I have ever been sure of, it is the life that I have found through Christ. My experience of God, whether firm or fleeting, is what I have chosen to stake my life upon. I have learned of a Hope that cannot be overcome, and I have fallen in love with him. Although my heart longs to please the Lord, it has unfortunately been very easy for my heart and mind to get off track-- a haze settles in, my vision is obscured, and my awareness of God in the world around me fades. Until, of course, I am awakened by God's spirit once again.
Each human was created to be pursued by his Creator. Whether or not someone is aware of it or agrees with it, the main theme of their story is a relentlessly loving God who pursues a relationship with them daily. God's desire is to give us all of himself. He is already working in the lives of everyone around us, and he invites us to be a part of it if only we would wake up and see.
The last four years of my life has been a slow process of waking up to truly see God in other people and meeting him there through relationships. I am not always very good at it, but I am so grateful to have realized what I should be doing and the vantage point from which I should strive to view the world. And what action is supposed to accompany this realization? Love. Love, that is unconditional and non-discriminatory, all-accepting and real. Love, for the day of the Lord is near, and it is love that will draw his children to him.
Now, it is time for me to put these concepts into practice. The safety of college life is over and now I get to go on the adventure of figuring life out. The next year of this life-long adventure is going to be spent in Thailand-- a place that I have never been and know very little about. But the bright side is that God is already there, and I do know him. And love still does the same thing no matter what part of the world I am in. I set up this blog to communicate with my friends, family and supporters about this adventure and I hope that whoever reads it is blessed by it. I am certainly not the wisest person who ever lived, but I do hope to learn something in the next year... and in my life. And I would love to share it with you here. :)
The night is almost over. The day is almost here. It is time to get up and put my clothes on.
