I Have a New Heart

I have a new heart. I know it. I know it because of what I just wrote in my journal -

‘I have died to the law so that I might live for God!’ I want to stop trying to follow the rules. Figuring out what’s wise. Figuring out what’s best. What’s best for me. What’s best for them. Blah blah blah. I want to live for God! All of those things are good, but I have so much trouble making decisions. I want to live for God. I want to please Him with every decision. My heart’s desire is to love Him and love people - the new heart that He has given me anyway.

I am so incredibly selfish in my flesh. I found myself trying to explain that to a friend the other day. I really am, more than most people I think. When I got the chance to love and help a woman in need a few weeks ago, I had to battle selfishness at every turn. Every time I chose to continue to love her, I knew it was only because of Jesus. I could rejoice at selflessness knowing, "This is what my Savior has done for me." And as I laid down on the couch that night, I found myself telling the Lord, "I'm putting all my eggs in Your basket! I am fully banking on that You are who You say You are, or this is foolish. Foolish because I'm putting all my natural selfishness aside."

My flesh's heart wants to do what's best for me. That looks like taking control of how I use my time - to make sure I get everything done the way I want it and look successful. But I'm beginning to give that up. I'm starting to see the beauty in process and taking things slow and doing what's best for other people. I haven't even come close to accomplishing it. But I have a new heart, and so I know that it's possible. And life is more beautiful that way. Giving my life away. Not living in fear. Being selfless. Letting go of everything I thought I knew and living for God.

This might sound like a radical transition. Maybe it is, or maybe it's not changing the 'what' but just the 'why.' In other words, maybe it's not changing everything I do, but the heart behind it. I want the heart behind why I do things to always be the new heart I have been given and not my natural, sinful one. Does that make sense?

Call me out on it if you think I'm not following through with what I say. Tell me if you think I'm making/not making decisions out of fear. Tell me how you think I can be freer. Iron truly does sharpen iron, right?

Make Him Known

Take a moment and read from me something I wrote on July 21, 2009. I was in Florence, Italy at the time:

I exist to know God and make Him known.

To love God and make known His love.

To enjoy God and make known His joy.

To praise God and make known his glory.

To trust God and make known his trustworthiness.

To listen to God and make known His voice.

To see God and make known His hands.

To wrestle with God and make known His infallibility.

To rest with God and make known His rest.

To go to Heaven with God and make known the path.

I love all of those, really, but tonight especially "wrestling with God and making known His infallibility" sticks out. Hallelujah to a God who is real and can stand against any test, any argument. I'm a natural doubter. Bummer. But His infallibility has shown through to me over and over again. And I'll probably question Him again tomorrow. But He loves me and is gracious enough to show Himself to me as I ask.

We exist for Him. And it's better than existing for ourselves. More painful in the short run, but much more grandiose in the long run. I love it.

A few things.

Three things I know for sure.

We, as a human race, are incredibly selfish.

We are also unattractively prideful.

And we are terribly, terribly insecure.

Three more things I know as fact.

We, as a human race, love fiercely. Unfortunately that love is usually directed towards ourselves.

We highly value safety. Highly.

We will protect our individual rights to the death. Shared life is negligible.

Yet three more things I know without a doubt.

There is hope to be free from the knowledge and facts above.

We were created to give our lives away.

Love and grace make this life beautiful.

Ohhh, McDonalds

So I went to McDonalds yesterday on a break during my eight hour cleaning day. As I was pulling into a parking spot at approx 3 PM, I began to think. "Oh gosh, I haven't really spent time with the Lord today. Dang. I feel bad. He's upset." But then I realized - I've been working hard all day and I'm really excited to sit for over an hour and spend time with Him. And that's when it hit me ... He is right here, ready to give me peace, rest and joy in His presence. He is pleased that I am working hard and trying to give love and grace to people. And He is here - in humility and grace and love and majesty - ready to receive me. And I tear'ed up in thankfulness for His love and grace to me. How beautiful He is. And I saw His beauty all around me in McDonalds. Two girls happily spending time with a third that had down syndrome. An elderly husband and wife sharing fast food together. A grandmother telling an animated story to her grandson. How beautiful grace and mercy overflowing from love is. It is possible in this life because He showed them first.

And if God doesn't live in Colorado

Since it's been so long since I've blogged, I feel intimidated by writing an entry. I want to write something inspiring or incredibly life-changing that's happened to me over the last few months. Everything I'm learning these days is so personal it's hard to write about. So I'll try to write a little blurb about my time in Colorado, then be more consistent in writing as I'm learning over the next few months ....

My summer began on an epic two week road trip with three of my best friends. We made a circle around the country - 8,000 miles in 15 days. Two things I took away: This country is beautiful (especially the West) and so are my friends. I adore them.

Then in St. Louis, I hopped in the car with Beka and Thiel and turned back to the West towards Colorado. We arrived May 24th. In exactly my style, I did not mentally prepare for the summer on the Ranch (www.vistaverde.com) nor really have any idea what I was getting into. It started with a two week orientation with our fifty staff - learning my specific job (housekeeping!), learning how to run a hospitality business, and becoming best friends with the other staff. I was riding horses, mountain biking, hiking and eating gourmet food in my off-time. And I am pretty sure that outside of the Amazon Jungle, this was the most beautiful place I have ever been. God is so stinkin' creative.

I learned a LOT about hard work this summer. We worked 9-hour days on average, 6 days a week. Not just physical labor, but the job of entertaining, too. Our off days were not Sundays - that was our busiest day, turning over the ranch for the next guests. It made me realize (surprise, surprise) that if you really want to be good at something, you have to work hard at it. There are no shortcuts that lead to perfection, and that's what our job was all about. It made me realize I want to become an expert at something. That takes hard work, like possibly grad school, but I'm now ready to work for it. I don't want to just be average. And not just so I can boast at how good I am at a skill, but so I can gain credibility among men/women to speak into their lives and actually help them. If that means becoming an expert agriculturalist so I can go to third-world countries and help them develop skills and teach them about God, I will. If that means becoming an expert counselor, researching and studying and helping people become whole so that they can see Jesus, I will. There's a lot to be learned from hard, blue-collar work every day. Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes, once said, "I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life." Mine was more like chemical stains on my bruised knees, but I still learned the lesson.

I spent the summer with four amazing women. We laughed together, we ate together, we got angry together, we cried together, we studied the Bible together, we danced together, and we sang together. I learned so much from each one of them. One of them taught me that literally everything can be funny. One taught me about being passionate. One taught me how to be goofy and wise at the same time. One taught me about really giving to other people. It was yet another reminder that community is what makes life possible. I could not have survived the summer literally or spiritually without them. And we were all so different. I love that! We learned lessons together about following leadership that is sometimes difficult. I think I learned about loving an enemy, really, for the first time this summer. I won't write too much about it here, but I'm always willing to share personally.

You should go work on a ranch. It may be the hardest thing you ever do. It may be the most fun and adventurous, too. I adored it. And now, I'm back in Athens - a city I will love forever. I'll write more about that soon.

Rach

Ranch Life

I am spending my summer on a dude ranch out near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. For those of you who don’t know what exactly a dude ranch is, neither did I until I got here. And I don’t think words can ever totally describe it; this is a place you must see to understand. Beka Adam, Jonathan Thiel and I have been here since May 22nd working hard, playing hard and entertaining hard in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains.

We have around one hundred horses here, and I could write an entire blog on what I have learned from their upkeep and personalities. We have around fifty staff here, and I could write for hours on the numerous individuals that have changed me just by their dynamic personalities.

But what I want to share is about the guests (“dudes”) we have hosted at Vista Verde Ranch. I was slightly disenchanted when they showed up the first week. Since our ranch costs about $3,000 per family member for a week, it is a very select group of people we are entertaining. Sometimes I lose heart when I’m around people with a lot of money – I tend to think they are demanding, have high walls around their heart, or are uninterested in what a twenty-something has to say about anything.

However, our managers assured us that by the end of each week, we would see a change in our guests. They promised us that as we worked hard to serve them and genuinely get to know them, they would be more grateful for us than for any activity we offer (rock climbing, horse back riding, hiking, biking, fly fishing, hot air ballooning, kayaking, rafting, etc).

It has been incredible to watch it week after week. Not all of our staff are believers, but many are, and even those who aren’t have a servants’ attitude and make conversations about the guests rather than about themselves. Our guests blossom at our ranch. They feel loved, served and at home among us. Every Saturday night, our guests’ last evening, they share how meaningful the relationships were they created in such a short time. And it keeps them coming back.

This is what we have as believers to offer people – rich or poor, for the Lord created them both. Relationships. Showing people they are worthy of being loved and served. Being full of life and vigor. Inviting them to be a part of our world and purposefully becoming a part of theirs.

See ya college

Sometimes nostalgia hits in stages. It really started a year ago when I took my final exam as a junior. Senior year had officially started - the beginning of the end. Then came the last first day of class. Then the last first football game. The last last football game. The last fall semester. The last Christmas break. The last Spring Break. Then there was the day our 100 day countdown began, which today marked the end. A few days ago I went to my last class of college. Then we opened our freshman year time capsule. Then came the day I took my last final. And today after commencement, I become a college alumnus.

Everyone always says that college is a special time, and everyone is right.

If I could sum up the last four years of my life in one word, it would be Love. An odd summary, perhaps, but the best one that comes to mind. I had no idea what I was getting into when I moved to Athens four years ago. But the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. He introduced me to Liz and Anna very quickly, girls to whom I credit saving my life freshman year. Then there was Tim and Jeff, two amazing guys who kept us laughing till 3 AM every night.

I came to college not really knowing who I was. Sometimes I wonder if in four years, I'll think the same thing about present me. But I have learned a ton. The friendships I gained have become the hardest, and yet most joyful and precious thing I possess. Jesus became real to me, and I know that He's alive. I have danced, I have climbed, I have road tripped, I have taken tests, I have written papers, I have laughed till I cried with my roommates, I have felt alive and free. And it only gets more so every day.

It's basically impossible to put college into words. But I thank the Lord every day for the way He planned it. I am absolutely and undeservedly blessed.

So why do I write this? I guess my purpose is, as with all things, to give the glory to Him. I have had an incredible, incredible four years. Hallelujah to Him. John 10:10. He came so that we may have life and have it to the full. Amen. I am loved. I am loved. I am loved. So bring on life after college - I think it will be even sweeter than now. If He is there, I want to be there.

See ya UGA. It's been real.