Lesson 12: God is the only place we find true freedom

For most of my life I've known the importance of having God involved in my everyday existence. It's not been until recently that I've started to take note of the difference between the days that I invite Him to be a part of my day and the days that I ignore or refuse His presence in my day. Someone asked me this past week why I would refuse to let Him in my day if those days result in so much joy and peace. When she put it that way, it made me think a little harder about why I don't always let Him in. Do I enjoy being miserable? That seems a little odd...

Part of recovering from depression is relearning what a normal day is supposed to look and feel like - it's strange to someone like me to have all joy and roses everyday! But that doesn't mean it's wrong to have all good days!! That's just one more part of God's blessing of abundant life on His people! On the days where I ask God to join me, be my strength and my stronghold through whatever the day brings, and use me in whatever ways He desires, those days are the ones that stick out in my memory as being the most meaningful and profitable. The ones where I focus on myself and my pain, or look only to my own strength are the ones that hold their place in my bad memories, the times that are dragged up and thrown in my face when the Devil is trying to get me down.

This concept goes for anyone - not just those who are dealing with depression or other attacks - literally for everyday living. I am making it my goal to be able to say that I can recognize where God has been involved in every part of my day and consciously invite Him to walk through it with me, whatever it may have in store. My first thought when I get out of bed should be thanking God that I am able to do so, and my last one before going to sleep should be thanking Him for the ways He used my life that day, and all of them in between should be asking for His help and thanking Him for His strength at all times. He does say to "pray continually" and that's exactly what we should be doing!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

A Brother, A Skeptic, and God's Perfect Plan

It's not very often that we experience a day that stands out as being completely put together by God, but as I was thinking back through today, I realized that every single little piece aligned perfectly to what I asked God to do this morning. Every morning while I'm eating breakfast I read the day's entry in a book called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (I highly recommend this little power-packed faith booster!). Today's entry happened to be about asking God to speak through you before every conversation you have - how appropriate for a day where I spend 9 hours giving campus tours, talking with prospective students and their families, and intentionally leading conversations in such a way that makes UW-River Falls sound like the best place on earth (by the way, it does rank pretty high up there ;) ). So, as I was finishing my breakfast, I asked God to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves today with every family that saw my face at the college visit day. And He did exactly that!

In one of the question and answer sessions we (the student panel) were asked to tell the visitors where we graduated high school from, what year we are in college, and our major/minor of study. Usually with this kind of a question I don't specifically state directly out that I attended a small, private, Christian school in Brooklyn Park, however, as I was waiting for my turn to come I felt the strongest urging to say exactly that. Little did I know that there was a family that I had never met before in my life sitting in the audience who attend Living Word and were immediately drawn to this campus when they heard where I came from. The dad, Craig, came up to me after the session and asked me what private school it was that I went to. I said, "Maranatha Christian Academy" and his eyes lit up with a smile I wish I could have photographed. He said, "That's our church!" Of course, I had to share in his excitement and say, "Mine too! Been there my whole life!" Well, our conversation progressed and we talked about the Christian groups I'm involved with on campus and he asked if we could meet up after the tour to talk more and so I could meet his family. In the end it didn't work out for us to meet later, but if my willingness to put myself out there made for a memorable visit for Craig and his family, then I praise the Lord that they had a positive experience that might just be exactly what they needed to help them make their college decision. Perhaps I'll even get to see them at church sometime, even though it is an awfully big place.

As soon as Craig and I ended our conversation I walked over and joined the other tour guides, and one of the other girls I've been getting to know better asked me who the guy was that I was talking to. I said, "He goes to my church and I didn't even know it! But then again, my church has like 10,000 members..." She didn't even flinch at the number like so many other people do and said, "Do you go to Eagle Brook?"And for a second I had to repeat what she said because it was so unexpected, but I replied, "That's the church I go to when I'm at school, but he goes to the church I went to back home." We got into a conversation about EBC and she told me how it's the only church she's found so far that has actually sparked her interest - she identified herself as a skeptic but said that EBC actually makes it fun. While we had to break our conversation there, I made a point to talk to her more about it later.

This goes back further than it would seem - while I was on the staff retreat with the Admissions office in May, I felt very out of place and almost like I had a spotlight on me because I am the only one on the student staff who openly expresses my Christianity. When I got home from the retreat I was reflecting on it and almost trying to get God to commisterate with me over that fact, but He didn't let that last long. Right away I knew there had to be a bigger reason that I was chosen to be on that staff again this year besides my ability to perform the job well. All the sudden things are starting to come into perspective and I can't wait to see where God takes it!

So, overall, today was just totally God doing exactly what I asked Him to do. I haven't even mentioned yet the fabulous tours that I had with some of the families today and the excitement that I saw in the students about the opportunities and experiences that UW-River Falls has to offer. I had one girl look at her mom and say, "I am for sure going here!" That was enough to make the sore feet, tired voice, and long day completely worth it. That, and the doors that God is opening inch-by-inch in my relationships with people at my college. It makes me very excited to see what all He has in store for me this coming school year!.