Dear Reader,
I always
loved summer camp. I was that crazy kid who tied a bandana around her renegade
blonde hair, painted her face like a football player, and got so into the games
that my counselor was presumably suspicious that I really had anger issues. So
as I was balancing my checkbook a couple of months ago and realizing that I was
going to need a summer job if I want to eat next year, the idea of being a camp
counselor kept slipping back into my mind. After arguing with myself for a
while as to why this was an impractical idea, I finally turned in my
application last week.
Now, I’m
out-of-my-head excited. I can’t wait to see how God grows me as I reach out to
the kiddos I come in contact with. (Of course, that’s assuming that I get the
job). I’m ready to pack my bags tomorrow, if that were an option, and get out
of here. I mean, really, why isn’t it June yet?
Because
right now, it’s November, in the middle of my first semester of college
classes. My nose has been to the grindstone for almost four months now, and I’m
tired. Don’t get me wrong, I love it here, but just like always, I get bored.
“If we can just make it through to Saturday,” I say to myself, “Everything will
be good. If I am just patient until Christmas break… If I can only hold off
until track season…”
What do I
get from all this rushing around to make the ever-inflexible time bend to my
will? Nothing but a headache and an extra dose of frustration. I’ve always
liked to have my hands in every little aspect of everything (yes, this includes
the cookie dough when I was baking this weekend), but I often end up running
into the point when me, on my own, isn’t enough.
Jesus has
an answer for us Type-A personalities, doesn’t he? Our striving, our
go-getting, our passionate motivation, will always fall short. We need our Creator
to pick us up, dust us off, and lead us by the hand.
Abide in me, Jesus says softly. He is
all we need. In the present moment and every subsequent one, we require nothing
more and nothing less than the absolute presence of the Holy Spirit in our
daily lives. It’s not about wishing for something better in the future, it’s about
letting Him make the present all He has planned for it to be.
So let Him
carry you. He is your sustenance, your every breath. When you can say that it
truly is “well with my soul”, it’s the most beautiful place.
It’s a
God-written place.
"So let go, my soul, and trust in Him,
the waves and wind still know his name..."
-It Is Well, Bethel Music
See? We have nothing to fear. God's got you, beautiful. Just like He's got me. And over and over, He has shown that He is good.
So let go. Trust Him.
Simply abide.
Until next time,
Brooklyn
