Stories

Oh, college. It is this time of the year when all of my students (and the other counselor's students!) anxiously arrive on Trinity's campus to move in for their FRESHMAN year of college! I love looking at all of their status' about being at Trinity and stalking their pictures on facebook of their dorm room- and the best is when I see them getting involved and making friends on campus. Overall, it's actually a really nerve wracking experience for me- I want to make sure they feel comfortable, and while I know our students and staff are great, it's hard for me not to worry that they'll get lonely or won't make friends. It totally reminds me of my first couple days at college- searching for anyone who wanted to be friend or sit with me for lunch. Everyone was asked the same question: Where are you from? What's your major? etc etc. Some of the most awkward and wonderful times in my life happened during my college years!

Another great aspect about this time of the year is our Trinity Ambassadors come on campus for training. (they work in our office with prospective students and give tours, host students, take students to lunch- they're awesome :)This year's theme is stories- how everyone has a story (based on 2 Corinthians 3: "You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all...") I had the privilege of writing a devotion for them and shared how it's easy for me to get caught in the trap of believing that my story isn't very interesting. I went from college where Dan and I were surrounded by tons of friends and involved in tons of ministries, got engaged, planned a wedding, moved to a new city.... and now we're here. By no means are we sitting around doing nothing, but our lives have definitely slowed down. We went from a life filled with conferences, retreats, Bible studies, coffee/ disciple dates, mission trips, and SO much more, to a life filled with routine, commuting, paying bills, cleaning the apartment, getting our cars fixed, keeping a budget, cooking, etc. And recently the question of "God how are you using me right now?" has stirred in both our heads.

Through this verse, the recent book I'm reading, and friends, God showed me that I had my story all wrong. That I was trying to write my own recommendation... when God clearly says later in verse 5 of that same chapter that "we are not sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers for Him." As one of my sweet friends Meg Thorsen reminded me in a recent email, "We're not profound or great, but what God is doing in our lives for His kingdom is profound and great." Such a great truth to remember- what makes my story interesting is not the activities I'm doing, but what God is doing in my life. Just because our live are filled with different activities doesn't mean God has stopped using us or writing our recommendation.

So just as I encouraged our TA's here at Trinity, I want to encourage you to believe that you have stories worth telling. Not because of how great you are, but because God is changing, growing, and using you in big ways, and His ways are worth sharing. Happy Monday :)