Last week my soul, body, everything, was going through the motions. I knew I had assignments to finish, and I did them, but everything took more time and effort than usual. Day to day I felt like I was wading through Jello, or a thick pudding, or a gelatinous cube (can I get a what what if you know what I'm talking about, all my nerds out there). I didn't know how to get the passion back in my life that I had had in my previous semesters in college. Looking back at my time in college, I see that my passion declined as the semesters rolled on. I got so caught up in doing everything right, I just lost the reason why I loved it.
Sunday morning I went to church in a dire state. I was not even sure why I was going. I just knew that I wanted to be near to God, and that I could find some answers in the message. That morning, the sermon was on reaching our communities through what is most important to them. Knowing and catering to what our neighbors value is the best way to introduce them to the Gospel that Jesus died for all of us. After the sermon, while sitting in the pews, I cried out to God for passion in my life again, for me to return to my first love. I apologized for succumbing to my strongest temptation: laziness. As I stayed in prayer, an idea began to formulate. My passion is teaching kids, and I know that the children in my area love comic books and stories packed with action. I read The Picture Bible as a child, and have very fond memories of it. What if I took a book like that, and used it to teach the Bible to the kids in my area?
All afternoon I pondered the idea, and prayed for faith and trust in God to provide whatever I needed to make this plan come to fruition. That evening we went to small groups at our church, as usual, expecting a discussion on a Bible story with our peers. Instead, we were called into the main section of the church to listen to a guest speaker. (His name was Tim Lee, and you can find more information about him and his ministries at www.timlee.org) I didn't know what to expect, but I was ready for God to show me something new, because I had prayed earnestly for that. God answered my prayer to the letter. Tim Lee preached on motivation! Isn't God the most faithful god ever! He showed me that I can ask Him for anything, and if I am sincere, and it is part of His will, He has no problem delivering!
Finally, I went to bed Sunday night at 12:30AM, knowing that I was going to be exhausted the next morning, when I had to wake up at 6:00AM. I was wrong. 6:00AM rolled around, and no matter how many times I rolled over in bed, trying to sleep in, God had already woken up my mind and my heart. Both were running at a million miles per second. I had no choice but to get out of bed earlier than I intended. Thank You, Jesus! Despite my procrastinating, snoozing ways, God lit a fire under me and now I'm ready to burn brightly for Him.
To quote one of Adele's lyrics, and use it in a more positive light than it was written for: There's a fire started in my heart, reaching a fevered pitch and it's bringing me out the dark.
