Today I am doing something that I never thought I would do, start a blog. I have always told myself that not only would I not follow what seemed to be the normal trajectory of most, to keep a blog, but I am also a relatively private person with nothing of worth that I thought the world needed to hear from me. In fact, my life is pretty boring. So what changed my mind? Well, it all started around August or September....
As most of you who are reading this probably know, I am passionate about children, books, and social justice. This story involves only one of them, social justice. A few weeks after my summer in Camden working with Urban Promise God laid it on my heart to start a program working with teens. Well, as most of you know teens is not my forte. I enjoy working with elementary and preschool students. The younger the better I sometimes think. However, as I've found out, when God tells you to do something He is relentless.
At first I began looking into curriculum, as I knew organizations like World Vision created resources for purposes such as this. I even went as far as to order the one I liked best that seemed to fit what I envisioned doing. Sounds good right? This is the easy part though. Creating lessons from the curriculum I ordered is a challenge that I enjoyed. Simple, straightforward, and it requires no one but myself to do it. However this is where the journey almost ended. Like Jonah I decided that it was too big of an order for me to do. I didn't really want to work with teens. Now I obviously didn't get on a boat and run away, in fact it really wasn't even a conscious decision. Life happened. I had my LSW test to study for, and then came the holidays and the ensuing baking, shopping, and decorating that comes with it. Before you know it, it's January.
Somewhere between the end of December and February God got a hold of me. One of the definitions of the word redeemed means "to make something acceptable or pleasant in spite of its negative qualities or aspects. Despite all my failings God somehow manages to put up with me and give me chance after chance. I am so thankful He loves me in spite of me. So how exactly did he manage to get a hold of me? One phrase. Oh, and lots of time spent in prayer. Never underestimate the power of prayer, or words. Sometimes you never realize how what you say impacts someone. This is probably why God puts so much emphasis on taming the tongue and using your words wisely. Anyways, my mentor-friend told me that I need to remember to "walk by faith, not by sight." He was talking about a completely different situation, but irregardless I found that this simple but profound statement, one that I had heard many times before, is true to nearly every situation.
So here we are halfway through February now. I am working to put together this program, which I call "Do Justice" (based on Micah 6:8). I currently have a space to hold the twice monthly gatherings (Thank you Amazing Grace Resource Center!). I have the dates and times all worked out. Right now it is a six week program focusing on understanding justice through God's eyes, gaining an understanding of social injustices occurring around the world, and developing a lens through which to impact the world and use their God-given gifts. Now I am working on getting the word out. I am excited, yet scared. Its like jumping off a mountain and not knowing whether there will be a net to catch you.
So here I am. Learning to lean on God and trust Him and gain His wisdom, not my own or the worlds'. Here I am, learning to walk by faith and not by sight. Like a child learning to walk or ride a bike it requires faith, perseverance, and trust, in this case in the one who created us and sustains us. I think I am pretty safe in those hands.
For those of you who are still reading this, a big thank you goes out to you! All this to say that the reason for my blog is to chronicle my journey as I begin this program. The ups and downs, the good and the bad. May God be glorified in my attempts to honor Him. Your prayers as I walk through this journey of faith are greatly appreciated. Also, (now for the shameless self promotion) if you live in Gloucester County, NJ or the surrounding area and you are a teen or know a teen, PLEASE tell them about Do Justice and invite them to check out the facebook event page!!!! http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/391290537552358/
Thank You!! :-)
