6 and counting

(Somehow this didn't post when I was traveling, so here you go! Just a few days late, same story.)

That's right, it's 6 years and counting!!!! Yesterday, to the best of my knowledge, marked the day 6 years ago that my life changed forever. It was a tuesday night, much like many others my freshman year. I finished some homework and headed to crossroads...aka crusade. I hadn't missed a meeting yet and in fact was one of the more faithful students. Yet I wasn't a believer. At least not yet.

That was all about to change. There's something about the moment when everything shifts and all of the sudden it seems, it makes sense. Thats sort of what happened, yet not at all. What I didn't know at the time was that God was faithfully pursuing me. My intention in getting involved in Crossroads was to 'know my friends better.' I thought that if I understood this so called faith of theirs, that I might understand them a little better. All the while, the God of all things was loving me, caring for me, pursuing me, and breaking down the stone walls to get to my broken heart.

I came to realize that night that I couldn't keep denying that I believed the truth. Over the course of that first semester I'd become to trust these 'Christians.' In trusting them, I trusted some of which they trusted, like the Bible. The more I read the more my heart was being exposed to my need that 'I am not.' Loius Giglio finishes that statement by saying 'but I know I AM' and at the time, that wasn't the case for me. I didn't know God, nor did I think I wanted to. But reality was, I was dying to know Him. Its like I metaphorically stood there naked with my arms wide open and tears running down my face saying 'I need you.' Thats about how I felt. It was true. I couldn't keep denying that this thing I'd been around, these Christians, were real. It was true. God was asking me to put down my shattered dreams and past pains and take the forever life he offers. It was so sweet.

I never would have dreamed my life would have shaked out the way it did. I couldn't have written a more different story for myself. Dreams I'd let stay dreams so I can chase my real dream, serving Christ. New passions have been discovered and I've gone places I never thought I'd go. People know me in a deeper way than ever before and thats what feels safe, not hiding my life.

No. The answer to the question is no. I never did think I'd serve in full time missions, but I am. That seems out of fetch when you don't identify yourself as a Christ follower. But the plan my life has led is not shocking to God. He knew and I celebrate that.

So heres to 6 years, and hopefully more. Now that I am where I am, I honestly can't imagine it any other way. To follow Christ is to have life, its to have it all.

Blessings.