I know that for me, two things this year have been really helpful in my walk with Christ.
First, it's those few and precious friends who share my faith, who are regularly encouraging me to dig into God's word. It's those friends who also struggle with ideas of a perfectly good and just God, who created this world full of people, many of whom won't be saved. It's these friends that not only suggest good readings, but read them with me and to me; as we discuss them together I get excited. Sometimes I am frustrated, but more often I am given a sense of peace or awe at the mystery of God. It's these friends that will sit in the Fish House café and discuss the concepts of predestination and free will while going through passages in Romans and Malachi that are hard to reconcile with. And being able to apply new knowledge I've been exploring and learning about through my theology class just gives me excitement and passion for Christ.
The other thing has been my church. Carsten and I have been attending Woodlawn CRC church since November. Sticking around after the service to get to know and talk with the pastors, grabbing some coffee with the congregation downstairs only to spill it all over myself when I shake one of my professor's hands, and being recognized but other members of the congregation have made us begin to feel at home. Just like any church, it has it's strengths, and it's areas that are still being improved, but that's not what matters. It's the act of showing up, for the purpose of learning and worshiping our creator. What a joy to realize that all week I'm looking forward to church on Sunday morning.
10 years ago