Leaving The Trading Post

I love camp!

Every summer since around 1st grade I have been either attending a camp or working at a camp. In high school I loved going to camp not only to chase cute lifeguards, hang out with my best friends, but also to experience God in a very powerful way.

When I got to college I found out that I could actually work at a camp all summer as a counselor. All the crazy camp memories started flooding to mind and all the counselors I had that made such an impact on my life in one short week.

This camp that I would be working at was about 100 times bigger than the one I had come from. Every day we had a schedule full of awesome activities, like zip-lining, the waterslide, and rock climbing.  Something I realized was that the girls had no idea how cool this camp actually was, much like myself during training week. When our first activity was trading post (a snack shop) they loved it! I would always laugh because they kept telling me how much they love camp, but all they did was buy M&Ms at 9am. I was so excited for them to fully experience all that camp had to offer, like the amazing waterslide.

Since I was the one with the watch, I would excitedly tell the girls it was finally time to leave trading post and get to the big stuff, the waterslide. I was so excited to share this amazing piece of camp with the girls, but some of them groaned. They actually wanted to stay at the trading post! They loved playing outside and eating tons of candy, I didn't have the heart to tell them that they could get that stuff at a gas station. But eventually they would get their stuff together and follow me.

Well, to get to the waterslide we needed to walk through some tough terrain. We had to walk through dirt and trees on a narrow path and the girls would complain about why we even left the trading post, it was fun there! They just had no idea what was coming and how good it would be for them.

When we finally got to the destination it was so amazing to see their faces light up. The cool blue water winding down the giant yellow slide was beautiful. I never wanted to make my girls sad by leaving the trading post, I really wanted them to have joy. But I also knew that our time at the trading post was just for a short time and the stuff that was next was even more fun.

I think sometimes God has so much more for us than just the trading post. He wants to show us the waterslide, but loves us to much to force us to leave our comfort zone. As I go into graduation in a few months I am realizing that I have to leave my comfortable trading post. This was my first "activity" of adulthood, but now it is time for new things. God is looking at me with joy and excitement because he knows the good that is just through the narrow path. I want to be excited for this next phase, but I have never experienced it. All I know is the trading post, but thankfully God has already made it to the waterslide and he came back for me so that I can also enjoy it.

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Sometimes God doesn't tell us what the next activity is on our list of life, but he does promise to stay with us the entire journey. What kind of counselor would I be if I told my girls to leave the trading post and just wonder around until they found what I was secretly hoping they would find. No! I lead them the whole time. I encourage them to keep walking when the terrain gets tough. God is always with us and guiding us, it's just that sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone and fully commit to the walk before we can ever find out how cool the next activity really is.

Because I Said So

I am thankful that my parents won't be at my college graduation.

Now some of you read that a few times and think that I must have had a typo or that I have a rocky relationship with my parents. Actually, it is quite the opposite, I want to be just like them.

Growing up as a pastor's kid we moved around a lot. At first I hated it, I had friends and a life in these small towns. My parents always said that we were moving because God said so. Thinking about this phrase reminds me of a four year old. They ask so many questions. I was the kid that asked above and beyond the quota of questions. I had to ask at least 5 different questions just to figure out what kind of sandwich we were having for lunch. Eventually most parents get to the point where they just say "because I said so".

Parents love their kids so much that they would do anything to protect them, including asking them to do things "because I said so". When a child is about to jump off a roof to see if he can fly like his favorite super hero there is not a whole lot of reasons he can see that this could be a problem (since duh he saw it on TV and it worked then). Since the child loves and respects his mother he will listen to her when she says "because I said so", he might throw a fit but he will be safe and as the mom you know that he will understand why he couldn't fly off the roof when he gets older.

We listen to our parents "because I said so" because we know that they love us and want the best for us. Yet when God asks us to do something we always ask a million and a half questions. Where will we live, how will we make money, what if things don't work out? These are all questions my family has been asking a lot lately. I can picture God smiling at us and saying "because I said so". He doesn't say it to be mean, but he can see so much more than we can and sometimes we just have to obey and trust that eventually we will learn why we couldn't jump off the roof.

Today my parents are moving to New Zealand, a place kind of like Australia on the other side of the world. They are going over there because God said so. They don't have a house, don't have jobs, and just got their visas a few weeks ago. They sold everything they own, including our house, cars, and almost all our possessions. My sister is putting off college and work so that she can follow God to my families' new destination. This is crazy!

Who would do all of this without a for sure answer to any of their million and a half questions?

Well that is exactly what God asks us to do. In Luke 14:33 Jesus says
"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

I think most people, like me, think that this verse is so great... until God actually asks us to do it. Yeah God, I will give up my Saturday nights, Sunday mornings, and maybe a Wednesday night if I'm feeling Holy. What about the other stuff, our comfort, our family, everything we have worked for. For us to truly follow God, we need to give up EVERYTHING that he asks us to just "because he says so". Eventually God will reveal why things are happening but until then we have faith that he loves us so much and only wants the best for us. God never makes us do anything, but he does invite us to trust him with all of our unanswered questions and just jump into faith.

My parents have no idea what the future holds moving to a new country without a vital member of the family (me), or any of the answers they were looking for, and I could not be more proud. I am so excited for my family to show the love of Christ to people in a new city. God called his disciples to drop everything and follow him "because I said so", so that is exactly what my parents are doing.

They will miss out on my graduation from college, and possibly some other things in my life;  but I would rather them show me the true meaning of following God, than to do what feels comfortable. God will honor them for following him without all the answers, and I can't wait to see what their faith can do.

Faith is hard and sometimes the only thing we have to go on is... "because I said so".