It is hard to believe a month from now I will celebrate the anniversary of receiving an email which would change my life forever. I should have known it was coming. A woman told us as much in a time of prayer a month before it happened. Even though it was not a total surprise, it was still a complete shock.
Looking back now, I can also say it was grace. It began a long process of becoming unglued from a place where I had invested and lived my life, and from a people to whom I had given my whole heart. I do not know if I would have survived being torn from it suddenly, without any time to prepare my heart for the severing. God was gracious to give me a year to adjust to what I knew would come. Still it hurt, the kind of hurt which you know you will carry with you until all hurts are washed away by the wonder of heaven.
This weekend I heard a phrase, which may be familiar to you, but it is one I do not ever remember hearing. Maybe, I had never taken notice of it before because it simply did not resonate with my soul. Now, upon hearing it, it resonates deeply. The kind of deep in your gut visceral feeling which make you know, in ways you cannot yet put to words, the reverberation you felt when you heard this truth has changed something inside of you. At the sound of the words, an understanding was born in my spirit which has become a way point on my journey. It gives not only a sense of where I am, but where I am called to go. It is freeing and exciting and a bit terrifying all at once.
I realize what I heard may not resonate with you in quite the same way. Maybe your journey has not yet taken you down the path I have walked the past two years. More than likely, however, many of you have walked this way before or y...
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...deeply in my soul, it has not changed my circumstance. In this place of unknowing, however, this truth has given me clarity on how I will live now, and into the future. I cannot yet see the destination, but I walk with confidence knowing I am on the right path.
I do not care if ever again I am called pastor, or professor, or writer, or preacher, so long as the Spirit of God is at work in me, manifesting my faith in love and freedom, and in doing so, growing me into a person who He can use to encourage others to take risk of laying aside hurt and walking in freedom. This is the ancient path. This is the good way. If I but walk in it, my soul will find rest and be free.
After experiencing the internal change brought about through this simple phrase, I feel like singing the old spiritual, “Free at last, free at last, I thank God all mighty, I am free at last.”
Now, whenever I’m faced with a new, unfamiliar, or difficult task, I only hold myself to my own standards and expectations. Free from the weight of other’s expectations of me, I feel as though tasks that once felt burdensome now feel more tangible and achievable. Not that I suddenly feel as though I don’t need to give every new challenge everything I have, I just do so only seeking to meet my already high
One day while in the streets of Hackney, feeling lost and sorry for myself, I heard the pleasant sounds of singing. I had not heard such a cheerful and loving sounds since I stoped going to Sunday school. I followed the sound of the voices...
Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.
have had a long journey and there have been many bumps in the road. There is
After looking into the journey and obstacles he faced to scale this dangerous and intimidating mountain, I noticed with each stop at each rest area he had learned something different about himself or established a new outlook about the journey. But it was not until they were in the final leg of the journey in which he learned his greatest lesson about himself. It was during the last leg that he realized he had spent most of the day looking at “how far he had to go,” instead of relishing in “how far he had come.” After stating he normally views things as “the glass half empty” I realized, I too, have a similar outlook on life. It was in this moment that I realized perception has a large impact on how I maneuver throughout life, bringing the popular phrase “mind over matter” to my
In my life I will encounter many obstacles, but my experiences will help me find a way around them, or if necessary, over them. I will always be influenced by the past and the past is what has made me who I am. Every word that I write with feeling, and every poem or quote that touches my heart, whether it be good or bad, will always stay with me. The words that I live my life by now may not always express who I am, but they will always be a part of me because they have helped make me who I am. Words are strong, but life is stronger. I will never lose my true self in other people‘s footsteps, and that is why the road less traveled has made all the difference in my life.
This paper is an attempt to do the impossible. In a handful of pages, I will dig into the Bible to build a theology of leadership, look at history to see important influences on the pastoral vocation, and build a personal structure for my call to the pastorate. Fittingly, this paper faces many of the challenges of ministry. The job description is massive in scope, the resources are scant, and the hope for success lies squarely on the work of the Spirit.
...rom His love (Isa 59:2) and forgo His command to turn, repent and be saved (Rom 10:9). However, when the power of the word of God is presented to lost and willing lives, their eyes and ears are opened to a new life in Christ (Isa 29:18-19). Revealed through the Holy Spirit and expounded by Holy Scripture, the modern pastor is furnished and called to carry out the work of Christ (2 Tim. 1:6-11).
... identity and answers profound life questions otherwise unobtainable. In only a short period of time, my perception of religion has changed vastly. I have been introduced to many other perspectives that have impacted my own beliefs. I hope that as I continue to study new religious ideas, my understanding and knowledge will grow as well.
being.” At that very moment, I knew my possibilities were endless. I prayed to God, who
> > > >fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on
- How many of us have heard the call of God upon our lives, upon our families, upon our careers, gotten inspired, began to rise to the call, and then let it fizzle out?
By letting go of my old identity, I have found a new purpose in life and I am no longer focusing on my fears from the past. Once I learned who I am as a person and became aware of my new identity, I realized that I was in the midst of my transition. Bridges explain “the problem is that before we can find a new something, we must deal with a time of nothing” (Bridges, 2014, p. 13). Furthermore, while I have come to terms with my past experiences, I have finally made a personal transition from childhood into adulthood, and now my new beginnings depend on my endings. The disorientation that happened in the past has allowed me to redefine myself as someone who is motivated and excited for my new journey at Saint Mary's College. I have realized that I had to abolish my past experiences in order for me to transition into my new
Throughout this journey of life many outside forces manipulate whom all of us become. Who created my personal connotation? Through every relative, friend, and composition it boils down to me. I have taken all these beliefs and crammed them into a 6 feet, 2 inch frame. The real journey lays ahead, the journey from young adulthood to old age. I only pray this journey includes many travels and few destinations.
...rd was trying to tell me this. It was during this time I heard the word ‘seek first the kingdom’. As I heard this word, I cried out to God for the first time in my life to remember me. It was here I made a vow to the Lord in the faith that I would find remembrance. As I made this vow and fulfilled it, the Lord opened doors that I can truly say would not have been opened if I didn’t respond to the word to ‘seek first the kingdom’. Out of this time, the Lord blessed me financially, led me to buy a home and healed my anxious heart. It was here that I began to find testimony before God through offering. This is something I am still finding to this day.