To a Christian Challenge Freshman,
Each week when I come into Forum Hall, I see you. I may be chatting with friends, hugging people I haven't seen in awhile or marking the text in my bible for the message, but I still see you. You are usually one of two people.. the one who looks eagerly for your life group leader, knowing you belong. Or the one who is very unsure - and tries hard to find someone to talk to. In this room with loud music, loud people, and a loud God, I know you are overwhelmed. And either way - I am so inspired by you. I want to congratulate you on coming to this place - I remember what it felt like to be in a room with several hundred other people, who, at the time, felt like they were all older than me, and knew more about Jesus than I did. It was very intimidating, but the best decision I've ever made - and I'll tell you why.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, I came to Forum Hall for the first time in January of my freshman year, brought by a senior who had invited me. This January day was three months after losing a dear family friend to cancer, and eight months after losing a friend to murder. Dear Christian Challenge freshman, 'overwhelmed' doesn't even do it justice.
I was overwhelmed by the people around me who were outgoing, talkative, kind, and a million other things. But something else was different about these people. I couldn't put my finger on it. I was overwhelmed by the idea of a 'meet and greet' and it terrified me to my very core when the senior in front of me turned around and introduced herself to me. She didn't look at me for all the things I saw wrong with myself, she genuinely wanted to know about my major, hometown, and family, and I was stunned. I was overwhelmed by the loud music, the powerful message, and these people who seemed to have their lives so together. But there was one thing that I realized about these people after a few weeks of attendance - they were genuine.
These people didn't have their lives together. There are currently girls in my life group who have lost parents and friends, struggle with various sins, are struggling in school, and are stressed out. They don't have their lives together, but they have Jesus together. And Christian Challenge has taught me that's what truly matters.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, please don't take it for granted. One of my biggest regrets is not joining a bible study freshman year. That idea intimidated me and I never wanted to be in a small group to talk about the tragedy that, at that time, was the last year of my life. I didn't want to tell people all the things I needed help with. But now, I wish I would have had the opportunity to meet each week with people who were older and wiser than I was because I've learned since then that that's where I grow.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, never take those retreats for granted. It took more than what I felt I had in me when I signed up to go to Summit my sophomore year. I knew one person, and it was the leader of my bible study. I was terrified to ride a bus for eight hours with people I didn't know, to not have any mental picture of this ranch, where I'd sleep, or even where I'd shower. (But plot twist, summit is for hats and deodorant, not showers.) My introverted and anxious self would often get the best of me and I thought about backing out more times than I can count. But with the help of my life group leader, I made it. She stuck by my side the entire four days, but was sure to push me to meet the other girls in my life group (not just shake hands, but truly meet them deeply.) She assisted me in putting some of the pieces of my life together - idolatry was the theme that year, and we talked about all the things I had turned to before God to cope with loss. She broke me down in order to find the best pieces of me so I could figure things out. I was able to meet one other girl in my life group (on the screamer, actually, because they needed a third person.) And we've been best friends since.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, don't take your leaders for granted. I can tell you first hand, as a senior who has led a bible study for two years, I want nothing more than to have good conversation with the girls that I live life with. I've loved those times when I'm playing Spike Ball at a retreat and someone says "Hey, what did you guys think of the text in Jeremiah we read today?" The girl I met on the screamer, Hannah, and I, usually see each other for two intentional times each week. We have 'bible time' each Tuesday, where she can help me put the pieces together as I continue to read. And we have taco time, where we eat Taco Bell (sorry mom) talk about boys, what heaven might be like, our love of coffee, and any and all possibilities that we might get a snow day next week.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, don't take these people for granted. Not very often will you find people who are able to deeply admit to you what they are struggling with, listen to your struggles, and pray for you and with you when you both know that only Jesus can fix them. I want you to know that the people that you truly grow with are not people you will find everyday. Never in my life have I felt so confident in myself than when I am around these people. Don't take the socks and chacos and flannel combo for granted. Don't take the swing dancing for granted - even if you suck, you will soon realize how much you bond over trying to learn the dance to the Hoedown Throwdown at 1 in the morning.
Dear Christian Challenge Freshman, do not take this staff for granted. There are very few adults in this world who will willingly get up on stage and talk about their own struggles with a microphone on, and even less who are willing to participate in a panel so that 400 college kids can ask questions about how to live in our selfish and sexually driven culture without flinching - knowing the are doing it because they want to pour into you. Don't take for granted the staff who can stand on stage and tell you that salvation is not found in Christian Challenge - the speaker who is capable of seeing much more than a successful organization that swing dances often. Don't take for granted the example that is set by these staff members, in the way they treat their spouse, the way they raise their kids, and the way they walk with the Lord.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, do not take your curiosity for granted. Nothing drives learning about God more than being curious about him. Ask your life group leader. Ask your best friend. Ask the staff - they want nothing more than to help you grow. Ask questions, even if you don't understand the question itself.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, if you hear nothing else, hear this. I beg of you, do not take your time for granted. You have a limited (hopefully) amount of time here. Do not say to yourself "I will go to Summit next year." Because you are missing out in deep friendships, more memories than you can count, and a big, big, God. Please don't look at the train wreck at Summit and think 'wow that looks unhealthy." Look at it as one of God's greatest blessings. (If you've had the train wreck, you know.) Please sign up to play in the volleyball team, the salad bowl team, or go on the screamer. Please understand that you have a ministry available to you that allows not for them to change your life, but for God to change your life.
Dear Christian Challenge freshman, don't take yourself for granted. Jesus does not use people best when they have their lives together, know all the books of the bible and can name all the prophets, or even when they have a million friends. Jesus uses you best when you feel like you don't even know which books are called the Gospel, feel broken from hurts in life, and do not know anyone in this room of 300.
Last night was my first time at Challenge for the semester, and as I looked around the room, I am excited about moving on. I am excited about the work God has done, and I am excited to find new challenges in life and watch him work even more. Dear Christian Challenge freshman, just as this organization wants to pour into you, be sure you pour yourself into the events activities, and people - because I promise you, you will grow faster and more than you ever thought you could.
Love,
A May 2016 Graduate
No comments:
Post a Comment