Saturday, July 9, 2011

Living in the core

Well, life has been one exciting adventure lately! Not only have I started my new job working downtown at a Christian non-for-profit that runs programs for street-involved and at-risk youth, but I have been housesitting with my sister downtown Hamilton as well! Our first night we got quite the scare... some 'gangsters' decided in front of our house was a good place to hang out haha, they even talked about killing people (we can hear everything that goes on in the street) and it was pretty freaky! But that was the only time we had any problems and I really enjoyed the opportunity to really experience life in the city! I love the city... especially Hamilton.. there is so much life but also so much brokenness. I went to the Art Crawl for the first time last night, and LOVED it. Met a lot of people and saw some people we knew...it was too bad we couldn't have stayed for Battle of the Brushes.. it sounded sweet! Hamilton is such an artsy city - and I think the best is yet to come!

I am really loving my job... but you know, it isn't just a job, its a ministry (well, every job can be a ministry if your heart is there) and the most amazing part of it is being able to build relationships with the youth and depend on the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in the ministry, in my life, and in the lives of the youth. I definitely can't do this job in my own strength, but God has been showing me how faithful He is when we step out in faith and trust Him even when its scary. God has laid certain youth on my heart, and I have been lifting them up in prayer as often as I can... and I am seeing fruit! I run into them on the streets in the most random places, and I am really excited for what God has in store for them even now. They are lost and like "sheep without a shepherd" but God is faithful and, even just a little bit, I can see His heart for them and how He loves them, and us, so extravegantly. I have so much to learn in this new area of my life called urban ministry, and I never imagined I would end up here!! But God is crazy (in a good way)and its only for a season (I start university in september!).

University is going to be a whole other ball game... I don't really know what to expect, and I am nervous and excited about it. But God has once again been showing me how faitful and mysterious He is. I prayed in faith to recieve the Laurier Centennial Scholarship (a full tuition scholarship) and didn't recieve it. I actually had the nerve to be upset with God about it, and really wrestled with God about it, but came out in the end knowing that just because God doesn't answer my prayer in the way I want Him to, He is faithful and no matter what has good plans and will provide. After I wrestled through that, I was able to trust in the fact that, even though I had no money for university, one way or another I would depend on God. About two months later I got a call from the Laurier Scholarship office!! Apparently someone who recieved the scholarship decided they didnt want to go to Laurier anymore, and they then offered the scholarship to me!! How crazy is that?! God is good and mysterious, and I guess He needed to teach me a lesson :P!

All in all, I am so thankful and amazed at what God has been doing in my life and I am trying to lay out my whole life and surrender it to God and walk by faith even when its scary, and He is faithful (if you can't tell, God has really been speaking to me about his faithfulness). If we put our trust in Him and take risks but depend on his Holy Spirit, He will meet with us and do more than we could ever imagine! But even when we can't see the fruit, we know that He is watering the seed! How amazing... no matter what season of our lives God is faithful.

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