I've recently been lacking in my quality time with Jesus, so my time at Sharptop was spent having some much needed conversations with the Big Guy. I have had so many questions for Him, and this weekend I found answers. YoungLife has a way of making me feel so comfortable, so supported, and so loved.
This weekend I found reassurance about decisions I've been trying to make about where to go to college. At times I can feel so overwhelmed by the choices I have to make, but God found a way to show me everything in a much simpler way. Instead of drowning in my options, I found myself feeling more and more confident about where I need to go.
Although a lot of my focus was on looking to the future, my friends and I also spent a lot of time thinking about the past. We looked back and reminisced on our four years (and more) spent together at school. We have grown so much, and it was really cool to be reminded of the ways our lives have formed, and how we have shaped each other during high school.
A lot of my conversations with God had to do with loving others, which I do admit I'm not the best at. I find myself at times being unaccepting of who people are, and I am always trying to change them into who I want them to be so that maybe I will be able to love them. But God really opened my eyes this weekend. One of the main missions of YoungLife is to meet people where they are. You do not have to change who you are to be considered lovable by God. So who am I to think people should change so that I can love them? If the Creator of the Universe deems someone (everyone!) worthy of His love, then I can too.
On the flip side of that, I was also reminded that I too am worthy of being loved by God. I get so caught up in my every day life that I sometimes forget to sit down and enjoy His presence. The last time I was at camp I was working- I was the one serving others in the name of the Lord. Being back on the receiving side of things was a humbling wake-up call, letting me know that sometimes it's okay to be the one being served and loved. If I am going to spread God's love, I also must be able to receive it, and this is something I hadn't realized until this weekend.
On Saturday, a group of friends and I decided to take on the Sharptop Mountain hike again, and it really put things into perspective (as it always does). There are so many metaphors I can use comparing life to a hike up a mountain, but I really think Miley said it best.
Keep the faith, it's all about the climb.
xoxo,
Rachel
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God" -Ephesians 2:8
