8.29.2011

i'm back and so are the students

For something I enjoy so much, you would think it would be easier to discipline myself to write more.

I'm crossing my fingers in hopes that what the Lord has been teaching me about emotional intelligence will rub off in the arena of writing. For now, writing remains mostly cathartic.

Which means when I don't "feel like" writing, then I don't. 

I've wondered if I should keep it that way, leave it at an occasional vent, a sporadic effusion. 

But writing has been an unfriendly catharsis to me. This may not be the case for most, but when I keep writing as nothing more than an outlet, it doesn't actually let out things all that well. Instead it serves only to stir-up what's settled at the bottom, rather than straining it out. 

I have a suspicion that has much to do with my inconsistency. 

So at our church's staff retreat a few weeks ago I, for the first time, actually made a goal for my writing. Now I have a certain number of words per day to put to paper ... I'll keep you updated on how things go.

On a personal note, my husband and I are now back home from our summer in the Rockies. While I enjoyed the ministry we did up there, I desperately love my home. Every sun-scorched, seared, square-foot of it. 

The campus is flooded with students now and grocery shopping is a pain, but I'm asking the Lord to give me fresh eyes for these collegiate souls. 

Yesterday evening I was thinking about the beginning of the fall semester on a college campus. How much excitement & energy pulses through everything, and how in light of this, it can hard for me to remember that though these students have their lives ahead of them, they need Jesus. 

As a freshmen, I remember my heart & mind so busy with the possibilities of tomorrow that it was frighteningly easy to pass over the brokenness of today; and therefore, my need for God. 

How do you communicate humanity's only shot at truth, to an underclassmen brimming with excitement of the unknown?

Someone once told me, "My heart is so for you." That sentence struck me as the most appropriate way to express how I feel about college students. There have been times I'm sitting across a banged up, wooden, coffee-shop table and my soul is overwhelmed with the desire for them to know Jesus.

Please understand. Before you leave here. Please don't go out there and not know what truth really is, what love really looks like.

Sidenote: I can assure you that choking back tears when a student is talking about their last exam is pretty awkward. 

I don't desire to dwell in negativity or feed a pessimistic attitude. The last thing I want to do is rain down statistics of failure on a hopeful freshman. 

But I can't settle for watching them settle for drinking water that will leave them thirsty again. So my prayer for the start of this semester is that the Lord will provide me with urgency tempered with wisdom in my interactions with these students. After all, I want to communicate the love their Savior has for them, not creep them out. 

Do you have any hopes, desires, convictions about this next season? If so I'd love to hear them. 

3 comments:

  1. I'm not sure if I've ever commented on your blog before, but I've read some of your posts and enjoy your writing. :)

    "For something I enjoy so much, you would think it would be easier to discipline myself to write more." - I totally agree. I love writing, but don't do it all that often. Although, writing for me is still cathartic, even if I do it irregularly... Although, occasionally it's not - so, I do understand the point you've made, too.

    Your heart is beautiful - thanks for sharing it here. :)

    I have similar hopes, I guess. I want to see others living, fully (and wholly IN), for Christ. (Myself, included...) Greater trust in God, faith, and love - of God and others. :)

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  2. ^Oh, this is Ashley from AMCF (and/or LT). :)

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  3. Thanks Ashley!! And thanks for sharing. :) Man, I'd love to see some of your writing. Do you keep a blog or write facebook notes? Let me know!

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