Here it is, a month after I return from the Czech Republic and I have yet to write my own personal reflections. That’s inexcusable, considering I was the official blogger for our team of North Americans.
I’d like to say it’s because I’ve been chewing on what to say these last four weeks. While that’s partially true, I’m fully guilty of placing this task on the to-do list in my yellow notepad, saying, “Tomorrow. I’ll get to it tomorrow.” Every day that passed, it never got crossed off my list.
Thankfully, “tomorrow” is here. And actually one good thing to come of my procrastination is that I did (maybe with a little help from the Holy Spirit!) think up some captivating reflections. At least I’d like to think so.
Three words capture this “media lady’s” 2009 EuroCamp experience. (Gotta love the name given to me by our Czech friends before I even landed on their soil.
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Journey
No matter where a person is on the “God-spectrum,” an interested heart is on a journey to know Him, whether for the first time or as a long-time Christian. After all, didn’t the Father create us with a God-shaped hole that will always feel empty until we come to Him through Christ in relationship? If a camper at the 2009 EuroCamp heard the gospel for the first time during an evening rally in Svratouch and is still thinking about who God is, he (or she) is presently on a journey with Him.
How about me? I’m still on the journey, even though I’ve known God for ten years. Presently, I’m in one of the biggest journeys of my 29 years when it comes to my faith and asking Him to move in ways in which only He can.
A journey is a process and we’re traveling on one whether we realize it or not.
Stirring
The next time you’re sitting outside on your front porch or back patio and all is quiet, listen to the gentle breeze surrounding you. I wrote in my personal journal on August 12, 2009, while our team was still in the country:
“God is stirring up hearts here, moving even when we don’t see it or sense it. We must trust that He is like the wind here, moving like leaves on trees, whether quietly or restlessly.”
I created a blog post about this very thing while I sat in the back of an English class at camp.
Relationships
Life is about relationships.
We see this modeled in the most perfect relationship (the Trinity: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit), and even in the way God pursues a relationship with us, His children. What good is life if we’re constantly on the go, consistently in task-mode, and have no one on this earth who knows us deeply? We weren’t meant to live this life alone.
I’m an extremely relational being. One of my favorite things to do is sit with someone and engage in meaningful conversation. Nine times out of ten, that’d be my first choice when it comes to spending time with people.
Relationships endure through the good, bad, and ugly. No, scratch that. We need people as we walk through life circumstances. In fact, we’re called to “rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Permit me to share a few examples below.
Last weekend I drove two hours to my old “home” of Dayton, Ohio, to celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday. In four hours’ time, I laughed and talk to numerous friends, and my heart returned to Indianapolis full of life.
I have a friend who has been diagnosed with cancer and starts chemo treatment tomorrow. She’s 29 years old. I plan to visit her in a few weeks, and the opportunity to encourage her in person has never seemed so important.
Tomorrow, I’m headed to Texas to see three of my closest friends. These women bring life to my spirit and to sit on each of their couches and talk, laugh, cry, and pray together is something I’ve looked forward to for weeks.
I have a family member who has endured the toughest 21 months of her life, one full of loss. To love her in the midst of shattered dreams has brought incredible life to my heart and taken our relationship to new levels of depth.
Why wait for tragedies and curve balls to let others know how much you care for them? Approach relationships with urgency, excitement, and expectation. Invest in lives, minister to others, and love people.
That’s the gospel lived out, and my greatest lesson learned through my trip to Czech. Individuals see Christ in us as we engage in relationships with them. They have an encounter with Jesus just by spending time with us.
You may never know the eternal impact you’ve had on a soul just by spending time with someone.