'Just recently I realized that for a long time this semester, I had fallen into a rut where I neglected to realize where or who I was focusing my efforts on. I was gratifying my own thoughts and such. So as part of my realization I asked God to remind me to keep my constant focus on Him.
Well, the night I went on that walk, I was tired of homework, didnt want to really be with people, or do anything, and I felt this small call to go for a walk, it was so small, I, at first, thought it was just an idea. So I left for the walk. I walked down toward the elementary school, and about halfway there, i began feeling that Jesus was walking right with me.
He gave me some confirmation in a small but very satisfying gift. As I turned to walk down the street leading into the elementary schools parking lot, I saw 3 girls, about grade 5, walking down the street toward me. To my delight, I recognized them as three girls from my Sunday school class and lunch time supervision, one of them being the "Queen" troublemaker at church. This girl surprised me by calling out to me and initiating a brief conversation with me. Its was such a confirmation that although she was such a pain in class, that I did actually mean something in her life. (Its so hard to describe just how much I love these kids each regardless of what they do...I just cant)
God continued to work with me. After I came back to grab a jacket, I went back out. It was as if Jesus said to me, "Lets try something. I'm gonna chose where we walk now. I'm not going to tell you, you're just going to have to pay close attention." So we spent the next while walking through the streets, sometimes taking really bizarre routes, last minute turns, and taking me the long way around some areas. I had an idea that I'd walk down the street where I saw the girls, but God had me avoid that street all together. We walked to the point, then back to the dorm. As a last direction, He told me to go through the back door, even though I could easily have gone through the main door.
As I reached the back door, I noticed that someone had gotten a fire going and was standing there alone. Curious, I went over to find out who it was and why the fire. When I walked up, the last direct message I got from my walking buddy (Jesus) was, "Talk to him."
Turns out, the someone was Vince, a high school kid from Whit 3. Such an incredible kid. It was kind of awkward at first, because neither he or I had seen each other, and the way he talked about the fire (how I started the conversation) was a bit wierd.
We stood out there by the dying fire talking about various stuff, but kept coming back to the fire. This guy has such a fascination with fire, its properties, power, and mysteries. As I type this, I can think of a whole bunch of "object lessons" and christian discussions I could have used this subject to bridge to, but at the moment, I didnt think of it. The cool part was where we both marveled at the mysterious power of fire, how it was so...with out physical form, yet extremely powerful.
This young man, who was brought up with not-christian habits and slangs, who probably built more fires than I've read my bible, or done devotions, effectively silenced me, marveling at the beauty and glory of God in this simple fire. We were looking at the same fire, but one was marveling at the flames and heat, the other was marveling at the creator.
I got two things out of this, a connection with this young man, and a reverence for God. God is SO GOOD!'
Bed time for me.
