[Pre-warning: I am an extrovert. I process out loud (or in this case...through stream of conscience typing). This post is primarily serving as a way to force myself to pause and reflect on the past year. If you get annoyed with ramblings the short version is I had an awesome first year out of undergrad!]
I've just settled in from a full (understatement) day! With a 4 o'clock wake-up, flight into Dallas, meeting with host church, meetings at mission sites, and some training week prep work , I am happy to be relaxing a bit at the hotel for the night. First impression of Dallas (slash Texas as a whole)...honestly didn't quite know what to think of the lone star state. Traffic is crazy, and drivers are insane! But it has been a gorgeous day! With each encounter and after a little time to explore I quickly decided I was going to like this place. Brad, one of our contacts at the church recommended checking out the Bishop Arts District. I stopped by one of the coffee shops to get some work done -for sure going to have to stroll back that way with the team on an off day!
There will be frequent camp posts to come, but that is not what this is. I mention it only because it is the framework within which most of my reflections on the past year have taken place. Our theme for camp this summer is
Life Together. As Passport celebrates 20 years of ministry, we are exploring what it means to be in Christian community. Do I even need to say that this is my favorite theme yet?
As I look back on the past year, it has been a year of sharing
life together with my communities here in Birmingham. When I made the decision to take a year off before seminary I knew I wanted to be very intentional in the ways I spent my time, and I feel good about how that played out. There are so many individuals and experiences that had a great impact on this year, there's not enough time to walk down that lane unfortunately. However, there are three spheres of my world that were incredibly transformative, life-giving, and encouraging wells of Christian community. This is where I experienced
Life Together this year.
Let's start with these peeps. Oh my, what a gift of life and joy these youth have been! The summer of 2010 I met the Vestavia Hills youth group when they came to Wingate for Passport. A week of hanging out with them clearly wasn't enough-they won me over. That fall I started joining them for Wednesday and Sunday nights, leading small groups, going on retreats, and just getting to know these amazing students. I am so thankful for the laughter, the difficult questions that we wrestled with together, the ridiculous girly memories on retreats, the coffee nights, times of worship, the long real life conversations, and authentic friendship this group has shared with me.
This group loves sharing life together-and they do it well! Thank you VHBC youth for teaching me so much about God and love and grace, and welcoming me into this journey with you all the past two years.
In August I moved into Micah's house with a group of people who inspired me daily. Micah's House is an intentional Christian community in East Lake that is grounded in Christian discipleship, simplicity, non-violence, and hospitality. Our community occupies two homes located down the alley from each other. Together we shared a rhythm of life. We had morning prayers most days, meetings to discuss anything needed, community meals each Tuesday and Thursday, along with the everyday happenings. These happy (non-crying) smiles you see here to the right were not always present. We all know that community isn't easy, it gets messy. Dishes pile up, communication slacks, we offend each other. Living life together calls us to be vulnerable, it beckons us into the messy waters of community. It was hard some days, but I couldn't dream of a group of people I would have rather lived with this past year. I can't even express the gift that those three little ones have been in my life. I had the joy of seeing God daily in the smirk of a precious little dimple face boy, an overly excited greeting and much needed hug at the end of a hard day at work, and the arms waving uncontainable joy of that beautiful sweet girl. Thankful...
Family, thank you for showing me hospitality, teaching me how to stand firm against injustices, promote peace, and be an intentional presence in the lives of others.
I love this office right here! It has been such a joy to serve as the intern in the Passport national office this year! This is a group of passionate individuals who work together, learn together, play hard together, minister together- do life together. I am so grateful for the lessons this internship has taught me about ministry, church, the sometimes boring but really necessary grown-up office stuff, God, and life! Thanks for welcoming me into the process this year!
Thank you for empowering me, and so many others, and inviting us into Life Together this summer!
I am so grateful for this season. I have learned great things about our Creator, life after college, myself and the life I am called to live. It has been an adventure. An adventure that has shaped and molded me, and one that I am thankful for.
