I would say in the last twelve months, I have experienced the most change in my life – so far! God has tilted my world upside down – although I wouldn’t say it’s all been bad. Some of the changes have been wonderful and some have been very upsetting. So let me go back and recap for you all the changes.
February 2, 2008 my oldest sister, Breanne, got married to a wonderful guy – Chris. They honestly are perfect for each other. I couldn’t imagine anyone better for my big sister and I’m so happy she and Chris ended up together and are now happily married. However in September they set out driving west to Chatham, Ontario. Chris got a job as the Music and Arts Pastor at a church in Chatham, so together they left Calgary, all their friends, and both sets of parents behind and moved away. It’s hard having only short phone conversations with my sister, or the occasional Facebook chat. I miss them and wish they could be here or I could be there, but I know God has them in Ontario for a reason and I have to let them discover that as they seek after Him in their new environment and new world.
In the summer I was forced to grow up a lot. I went on a mission’s trip to Mexico without my parents and I spent the summer working at a Bible camp. In both situations I was forced into responsibility; I needed to take care of my health, make wise choices and be held accountable for my own actions. There were definitely ups and downs of the summer, I found it incredibly hard at times to be smart and know what to do in certain situations – but God helped me to grow more than I could imagine.
Then in the fall the change continued. September started off with me and my mom in Africa which although was amazing – confused me thoroughly. See by the time I was in Africa I was exhausted mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It had been a crazy busy summer and I wasn’t ready to serve in a completely different culture. But again, God really used my inability to teach me about myself, my limits, my weaknesses, and His power, glory, love, and compassion. One of the major realizations in Africa was my future. I was certain I would end up in West Africa working with street kids. But God has a plan and showed me, His plan and my plan might not be the same. For a week while in Uganda we were in Kampala, the capital. I was taking care of local pastor’s children while their parents were at a conference. There was about 300-500 daily and they were honestly adorable. Then for three days we went to the bush to a little village called Nango. I found it very hard to connect with the kids there, not only was there a language barrier, but they were honestly scared of the Muzungos (white people) so I couldn’t even pretend to talk to them or hold the babies because they’d start crying. So I decided the city kids were cuter, but really who am I to even think that? It was clear the Nango kids were craving to be loved, many were orphans, their clothes were torn, and most had large sores on their heads. Then on the drive back to the capital from the little village God really spoke to me. He was telling me that working with street kids will be like working with the Nango kids; hard to reach, untrusting, and scared of me. Which flipped my “life plan” upside down, God told me He knew where I would be in ten years and I didn’t have to worry about it at the moment. He wanted me to let it go. So for now, I’ve let my Africa dream loose – I’ve given it up to God hoping He gave me this huge passion or Africa and for kids for a specific reason.
Schooling also changed for me, I started doing online school rather than simply traditional homeschooling. This forced me to be on top of my school at all times, now I had assignments to hand in by a certain date. Plus my teachers were people different from my mom so I couldn’t just ask her a question or talk out the assignment with her. And an exciting realization that came along with online school was the prospect of a grad. Now I will have an official grad, with a grad dress and all! Starting online school is definitely one of the wonderful changes, I love how it’s prepared me in some areas for any post-secondary education, plus it’s given me a grad class!
More recently since the summer ended, many of my friendships have been redefined. In September my best friend, Brianna, started university. As you can imagine, our worlds flipped as now she has tons of papers, way less time to hang out, and new friends who’s worlds are more similar to her own. It’s not bad, it’s just different! I started talking to other friends more, new friends and friends I hadn’t talked to in a while. Sharon and I started getting closer over the summer. With the help of being in Mexico we spent way more time together and realized how similar we are. And now we still are spending tons of time together, and enjoying every minute of it! I also became friends with many of the people at my second youth group. It seems like now, my friends seem to be around my age whereas last year I had a few friends my age and a ton of friends a couple years younger than me.
My second youth group is definitely a highlight of my week. In April I started joining Brianna as she went to Southview Alliance youth. We attend the Tuesday night, worship and life group. It’s really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Now I talk to people who normally I would have just smiled at, now we’re friends and I talk to them weekly. It’s also opened my eyes to the real world. The girls in my Bonavista small group (whom I love) seem to have problems with school or maybe a family member to share, meanwhile at Southview the girls have all these boys and friend issues. At Bonavista we’ve all grown up together and are fairly sheltered and naïve meaning many friend issues we have would be within the group. But with Southview it’s very different, those girls aren’t as tightly connected and have completely different worlds.
The biggest Bonavista change took place last Sunday, we were all informed our youth pastor – Ryan – had been laid off. This was a huge shock for all of us, and made many of the youth furious. Ryan had led the team to Mexico I was on, then the first weekend we were home a small group of senior high students and Ryan drove up to Wayne, Alberta. It’s a little ghost town where we camped while attended a youth worship event. It was so much fun. After spending so much time with Ryan, he became more of a mentor than a pastor and the friendships amongst myself, my peers, and him have been strengthened. So hearing he was laid off because of our church’s financial issues was devastating for all of us.
Again, it seems like my world has completely changed over the past year – my friends, my schooling, my family, my dreams – it’s all different now. But all these changes have made me stronger, they’ve pushed me and pulled me in ways I may not have wanted to go, but was grateful for. Life is a continuous journey and although there are major highs and major lows, I’ve really been trying to find joy in all circumstances. Things are going to happen and we may not like them but that won’t stop them. We have to remember God has everything under control and He’s got the master plan in action right now, we just don’t see it. The challenges that we face in life may not all be pleasant but we can learn from each event, and grow through them. I know this isn’t the end of my changing world, soon I’ll graduate and I’ll have to decide what’s next in life. It will be exciting, and scary, but I know God has everything under control and He’s the one guiding me anyways, so it’s all okay!
February 2, 2008 my oldest sister, Breanne, got married to a wonderful guy – Chris. They honestly are perfect for each other. I couldn’t imagine anyone better for my big sister and I’m so happy she and Chris ended up together and are now happily married. However in September they set out driving west to Chatham, Ontario. Chris got a job as the Music and Arts Pastor at a church in Chatham, so together they left Calgary, all their friends, and both sets of parents behind and moved away. It’s hard having only short phone conversations with my sister, or the occasional Facebook chat. I miss them and wish they could be here or I could be there, but I know God has them in Ontario for a reason and I have to let them discover that as they seek after Him in their new environment and new world.
In the summer I was forced to grow up a lot. I went on a mission’s trip to Mexico without my parents and I spent the summer working at a Bible camp. In both situations I was forced into responsibility; I needed to take care of my health, make wise choices and be held accountable for my own actions. There were definitely ups and downs of the summer, I found it incredibly hard at times to be smart and know what to do in certain situations – but God helped me to grow more than I could imagine.
Then in the fall the change continued. September started off with me and my mom in Africa which although was amazing – confused me thoroughly. See by the time I was in Africa I was exhausted mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It had been a crazy busy summer and I wasn’t ready to serve in a completely different culture. But again, God really used my inability to teach me about myself, my limits, my weaknesses, and His power, glory, love, and compassion. One of the major realizations in Africa was my future. I was certain I would end up in West Africa working with street kids. But God has a plan and showed me, His plan and my plan might not be the same. For a week while in Uganda we were in Kampala, the capital. I was taking care of local pastor’s children while their parents were at a conference. There was about 300-500 daily and they were honestly adorable. Then for three days we went to the bush to a little village called Nango. I found it very hard to connect with the kids there, not only was there a language barrier, but they were honestly scared of the Muzungos (white people) so I couldn’t even pretend to talk to them or hold the babies because they’d start crying. So I decided the city kids were cuter, but really who am I to even think that? It was clear the Nango kids were craving to be loved, many were orphans, their clothes were torn, and most had large sores on their heads. Then on the drive back to the capital from the little village God really spoke to me. He was telling me that working with street kids will be like working with the Nango kids; hard to reach, untrusting, and scared of me. Which flipped my “life plan” upside down, God told me He knew where I would be in ten years and I didn’t have to worry about it at the moment. He wanted me to let it go. So for now, I’ve let my Africa dream loose – I’ve given it up to God hoping He gave me this huge passion or Africa and for kids for a specific reason.
Schooling also changed for me, I started doing online school rather than simply traditional homeschooling. This forced me to be on top of my school at all times, now I had assignments to hand in by a certain date. Plus my teachers were people different from my mom so I couldn’t just ask her a question or talk out the assignment with her. And an exciting realization that came along with online school was the prospect of a grad. Now I will have an official grad, with a grad dress and all! Starting online school is definitely one of the wonderful changes, I love how it’s prepared me in some areas for any post-secondary education, plus it’s given me a grad class!
More recently since the summer ended, many of my friendships have been redefined. In September my best friend, Brianna, started university. As you can imagine, our worlds flipped as now she has tons of papers, way less time to hang out, and new friends who’s worlds are more similar to her own. It’s not bad, it’s just different! I started talking to other friends more, new friends and friends I hadn’t talked to in a while. Sharon and I started getting closer over the summer. With the help of being in Mexico we spent way more time together and realized how similar we are. And now we still are spending tons of time together, and enjoying every minute of it! I also became friends with many of the people at my second youth group. It seems like now, my friends seem to be around my age whereas last year I had a few friends my age and a ton of friends a couple years younger than me.
My second youth group is definitely a highlight of my week. In April I started joining Brianna as she went to Southview Alliance youth. We attend the Tuesday night, worship and life group. It’s really pushed me out of my comfort zone. Now I talk to people who normally I would have just smiled at, now we’re friends and I talk to them weekly. It’s also opened my eyes to the real world. The girls in my Bonavista small group (whom I love) seem to have problems with school or maybe a family member to share, meanwhile at Southview the girls have all these boys and friend issues. At Bonavista we’ve all grown up together and are fairly sheltered and naïve meaning many friend issues we have would be within the group. But with Southview it’s very different, those girls aren’t as tightly connected and have completely different worlds.
The biggest Bonavista change took place last Sunday, we were all informed our youth pastor – Ryan – had been laid off. This was a huge shock for all of us, and made many of the youth furious. Ryan had led the team to Mexico I was on, then the first weekend we were home a small group of senior high students and Ryan drove up to Wayne, Alberta. It’s a little ghost town where we camped while attended a youth worship event. It was so much fun. After spending so much time with Ryan, he became more of a mentor than a pastor and the friendships amongst myself, my peers, and him have been strengthened. So hearing he was laid off because of our church’s financial issues was devastating for all of us.
Again, it seems like my world has completely changed over the past year – my friends, my schooling, my family, my dreams – it’s all different now. But all these changes have made me stronger, they’ve pushed me and pulled me in ways I may not have wanted to go, but was grateful for. Life is a continuous journey and although there are major highs and major lows, I’ve really been trying to find joy in all circumstances. Things are going to happen and we may not like them but that won’t stop them. We have to remember God has everything under control and He’s got the master plan in action right now, we just don’t see it. The challenges that we face in life may not all be pleasant but we can learn from each event, and grow through them. I know this isn’t the end of my changing world, soon I’ll graduate and I’ll have to decide what’s next in life. It will be exciting, and scary, but I know God has everything under control and He’s the one guiding me anyways, so it’s all okay!
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