The Depth of Reflections

I really do love summer, so much. Even when it feels boring and like I am doing the same thing everyday, time away to process and reflect is much needed. Since being home, I made a decision to cut down on social medial use and take an introspective look at my life and my relationship with God. I have taken a break from Pinterest, Tumblr, and other sites for 30 days, of which I am a little over half way through. God has really met me in this time of commitment to reflecting on him. What I have been learning about is, loving his people more. One of the ways that this lesson was enforced was through the book, Crazy Love, by Francis Chan. I realized that I want to like in a heaven-minded way and to love others I encounter as if they are Jesus, himself.  

            To live in a heaven-minded way, is to become more conscience of the dimension of God and his intimate involvement in the lives of his people. It is easy to push God far away, only letting him into life in the form of the ritual dinner time prayer or a quick word before you fall asleep, and forget that he hears all of our thoughts, knows the desires of our heart, and, more importantly, is walking this journey of life right along side of us. In becoming heaven-minded, we are also becoming God conscience and are then able to reflect and build a relationship with, the person of God, as we move throughout our day. Therefore, opening us to a deeper and more fulfilled relationship with our Creator.

            Secondly, loving others as if they were Jesus is a difficult task and will only come from someone who is heaven-minded. Jesus was the one who noticed the least, the mundane, and the socially unacceptable. This can be exemplified in many ways, but at the core is not being to busy in our daily lives that we seam roll past the people that are a constant part of life. It is doing the dishes that are left behind and forgotten about, even when you will not gain recognition. It is offering a hand to the lady outside of Bed, Bath, and Beyond who is holding her screaming child over one shoulder, her return item in the other, trying to get the attention of her wandering four year-old, and trying to close the trunk of her car. Or, swallowing the urge to take back something that you don’t feel someone truly needs to borrow, and giving it willingly, because you know, in the scope of eternity, it truly doesn’t matter if it is in your possession. Becoming conscience of people and treating them as Jesus, takes much more effort than living out the image/reputation based culture that we live in. Our culture is constantly concerned with how we look and how much we possess. What sets those who love Jesus apart from the world is that second glance and show of grace that we give to the people we encounter.

            Jesus noticed everyone: the short man in the tree, the bleeding woman who touched the fringe of his coat in a crowd, the leper who was entirely covered in diseased, oozing wounds. Jesus proclaims that whatever we do for the least of these is what we are doing directly for him. Tell me, how could we change this world if everyone took a moment to recognize and show grace to the people we encounter in life everyday, weather we feel they are deserving of it or not. It will not always be easy, but love them like Jesus. 

Embrace Weakness

 Coming home to Orange County from the bubbled community that is Westmont, I am again confronted with the image-based society that I live in. Here, everyone puts up fronts, weakness is not embraced but rather, condemned, and everything must look perfect on the outside. I have grown up in this, and held together my shiny outside and performed, seemingly, close to perfection.

In the face of many life-impacting events this semester, I found that I, out of habit, would push feelings down into my core and present a shiny, nothing-bothers me, veneer. However, as all veneers will eventually be worn off to show the less-than-perfect underside, the community of people that Westmont placed around me caused it to get pulled back, little by little.

The mission statement of Page Hall, something that was determined the summer before school began, was: Redeemed by Grace, Rooted in Christ, and Rejoicing in Weakness. Its amazing how God knows what people will need and prepares to meet us in the time where we will need him the most.

It was the third part of this mission statement: Rejoice in Weakness, that was the most vital to my life this semester. 2 Corinthians 12:9 appeared everywhere, once six different times in a week. God’s power is made perfect when we are weak, and if we embrace this, it becomes easier to let the veneer wear off. This is my goal: to be open and not hide the hurt, but rather allow healing to come from God, despite my own weakness.  

Like a Book

             I cannot believe that I am finished with my first year of college. It has been the most exciting, most memorable, hardest, and amazing year of my life.
God answered many of my prayers in brining me to this amazing community of Westmont College and brining into my life some of the best friends I have ever had. I know that I am truly blessed by this.
            Yesterday was the transition, from my freshman dorm, Page, back to home. Although this is sad transition, it is nice to know that the journey is only beginning, rather than ending.
            My roommate and I were talking before we left school, and we decided that college is like a book. It is made of chapters, and each chapter holds a new adventure. It is similar to a book, in that the first chapter (or, in this case, year)  is where you are introduced to the characters. It is in the following chapters, however, once the introductions have been made, where the adventures are able to begin and be more fully embraced. Continuing in this book analogy, then, the summers are like a footnote to the chapters, they allow the good times to be expanded upon.
            In thinking like this, the time away from the community at Westmont will not be sad, rather, it will be an expansion of the experiences and adventures that will be different. Summers will be nice and relaxing, without the parameters of school work. With this mindset, I am looking foreword to enjoying the now and seeing what God has planned for this summer.