It has been two weeks since I have been back. Blogging and debriefing was my personal way of reflecting on my time in Guatemala and CTI. I will admit that writing these blogs was difficult because there are so many things that I wanted to share and trying to pick a single story or event each day was exhausting (but fun). There would be times that I rewrote the same story multiple times before posting or changed the story over and over again until I am willing to publish the post. It was also hard being reminded of my team everyday but also good to see my experience beyond just what we did and more so the impact it had. In doing so, I was more focused on how God was working during my trip than just the random stories I have about my team. In fact, the point of the blog was not really about me or my team at all. It was suppose to reflect how God was working in us. In the same way that I want to live my life in reflection of Christ's character, I wanted my writing to also reflect how God was working.
As a person who wants to pursue writing and journalism, this experience was good practice but also a little intimidating. Post blogs is one thing but publicizing is another and very humbling for me. I was encouraged by how many people actually took time out to read the blogs and even more humbled by how many people were encouraged by my writing. All in all, as a student and a wanna-be writer, it was a fun learning experience.
So I still haven't answered the question, "So what?" In the previous blogs I have hinted at how I want to change the way I would live my life or how I want to be a more passionate and better christian but all of that seems too vague and too... unachievable. How much passion is enough passion and isn't there always room to be "better". So I am again left with the question, "SO WHAT?!"
My answer after all this is simply, to continue and be faithful. God has revealed so much about himself to my entire team this summer- his grace, his love, and his provision to say the least. Now, all I can do is to trust him to lead me for the rest of my life. I dedicated 6 weeks of my life to CTI and for God to use me but now, I am dedicating it all. The talents I have, the skills I've gained, the experiences I can share, all of that, I want to use for His kingdom's sake. At the end of the day, I know I have been blessed beyond measures and with that, I want to give back and encourage the people around me. So that is my answer to "so what?" I will continue to live my life for Christ, the one who died, defeated death, rose, and brought the hope of salvation to the world.
What better way to end this post and this series of blogs than with the theme verse that my team adopted? In the same way my team leaders encouraged us, I want to encourage you all with this verse:
"For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness', made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
- 2 Corinthians 4:5-7
-Charlie
No comments:
Post a Comment