Day 026: Facing the Facts

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" Matthew 16:21-22

The disciples followed Jesus around and made valiant attempts at understanding all that he had to teach.  However, in a passage like this one, we learn that they were fine with following Jesus, just so long as the mission lined up with their own views.

In the same way, we haven't changed much, nearly two thousand years after the fact.  We treat Jesus as if he is our chauffeur, our butler, our servant.  Instead, we should be treating Jesus with reverence, remembering that we are here to serve him.  Jesus, through his mission, taught us that we are going to have to go through some difficult times in order to achieve all that needs to be done here on earth.

In the Bible, we see that the apostles didn't really get the ball rolling until they had witnessed the Pentecost.  They had to wait until they openly received the Holy Spirit in order to start their missionary work.

The lesson is that we don't have to wait to start.  We just need to be willing.  We need to join each other with one accord so that we can listen to the voice of God, so that we can understand what our mission is, so we can receive the Holy Spirit.  God will always provide for the way, but we just need to be willing to stop at the doorway so that God can give us our lunchbox on our way out the door.

Day 023: God Provides

"Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours."  Genesis 45:20

At the end of the story of Joseph, after all its twists and turns, for the better and the worse, this message sums up the entire story.

Our lives are in God's hands.  We can choose to do things one way or another, but God has the final say.  God also wants us to be successful.  God wants us to be the best that we can be.  However, we, in our immaturity, can't always know what's best for us.  Sometimes we have a vision about what's best for us.

When I look back on the past few years, I notice that things haven't always gone my way.  I wanted to leave home after high school, so I auditioned and made it in to Longy School of Music.  While I was there, I began to learn more about how to perform everyday house tasks and how to live life more healthily.  However, I was only able to stay there for a year, and I hated the fact that I had to come back home.  I didn't like having to go to a different university.  But, while I was studying at the University of Houston, I learned much more about my interests, particularly by improving my writing.  I also met two of my best friends by studying there.  Though I had many frustrations in the University of Houston, I graduated from there, and then moved to Chicago to go to graduate school at Chicago College of Performing Arts.  It was there in Chicago that I was able to perfect my music making and where I was able to explore more freely my life as a Christian.  I made another very close friend while there.  After graduating, I didn't make it into any program that I had auditioned for, so, once again, I felt like a failure coming back home to Houston.

Up until the past month or so, I hated answering the innocuously American question, "So, what do you do?"  I hated not having an answer.  Before, I was able to impress, by saying I was doing a double major, or I was studying in a far away city, or I was pursuing my master's at a relatively young age.  I was only able to stumble for words.  But, the past few months of being back here have brought me so many amazing things and people, particularly my amazing boyfriend and an opportunity to perform historical music, a style I had not been able to play nor practice seriously for almost six years - a style of music that many had looked down upon me for.  I have also been able to learn more about the Episcopal Church and God in this time.

I may have my own goals, and Joseph may have had his own as well.  But, through the many twists and turns that we must go through in life, we shall see that God always provides.  God is good, and God is great.  God is holding me by the hand through life, and I strive never to let go.