It's true that traveling teaches you a lot about yourself. Continually pushing the limits of both your comfort zone and your scope of the world is exhausting, but extremely rewarding. After all, going through each day in a bubble of familiarity is not really living. The world is meant to be explored, experienced, chewed up and spit out. You are not confined to any small corner of this planet; it is yours to take and make of it what you will. We are here to make our mark, not to float through life in a watered-down state of being. We are called to be loud, bold, and unabashed in our adventures, taking each new day as the gift that it is.
When abroad, you learn in ways that you simply cannot at home. I know that this is true for everyone. However, as a Christian, the things that I am being taught and the way that I am being taught is different than that of other world travelers. As Christians, we are told that we are to live in a way that goes against the world. We are in it but not of it, or at least we try our best to be. Because of this, we are constantly being pushed outside of our comfort zones, just by living every day.
Honestly though, after two years of fully pursuing Jesus, the lines between my own sphere of safety and full exposure have become blurred. I don't know where my comfort zone begins and ends. At least, I didn't until I came abroad.
Let me explain.
We have an extremely strong community of believers at Miami. Our community is so strong that it is entirely possible for us to go through entire days without encountering a single same-aged non-believer. Not a single. One.
This lack of worldly contact allows for us to remain inside a Christian bubble, essentially ignoring the world around us. We don't have to deal with the problems and the pressures of the world because we aren't living in it. We are removed from it, and thus, we remain inside of our comfort zones. We stay where we feel safe, and if we are pulled outside for a work shift or a lunch break or a class project, we are only gone for an hour or so, and we can endure the torture of the real world before we head back home to read our bibles and talk to our Christian friends that truly understand us.
This frustrates me to no end. It frustrates me that I fell into that paradigm for a little while at Miami, spending all my time running back and forth from one activity to another, all in the name of sacrificing my life for Jesus. I missed so many opportunities to live. I missed so many opportunities to love, to witness, to be the light that we are all called to be. It's true, I felt a little uncomfortable being different, but how could I have expected my differences to make any sort of impact when I kept myself hidden from those that needed the gospel the most?
quick side note:
I hope this doesn't sound too harsh. I'm not spiteful of my experiences thus far at Miami, nor am I condemning any member of my community there (Hi, guys! I love you! You're the best people I've ever met!). I just want to convey how sheltered we can be, even by accident. This is about my journey and growth. Please take it as such.
I ended this past year with a strong desire to be more present among my peers at Miami. I felt called to become integrated in the community that I had avoided for so long, the group of peers that I had thrown haphazardly aside in the name of sacrificing my time elsewhere. It was out of my hands, I told myself. I would get lunch with that girl, but I just don't have time. I would sit and talk with him about why I believe what I do, but I have to leave campus in twenty minutes! I wrote off those seeking my counsel in the name of busyness. I saw myself doing it, and I hated it, and I didn't know how to fix it. So I didn't.
On this trip, I am the only person that has been involved in any way with Young Life at Miami. I am one of a handful of practicing Christian girls, and all of us are at different places in our walk with God. I am in a foreign country where church is in French and I spend my Sunday mornings on planes and trains and buses. On this trip, I got my wish. I am among one hundred and twenty normal Miami students.
Let me tell you: it is hard to transition from being constantly surrounded by a deeply supportive, loving, and faithful community to living in a foreign country where community is almost nonexistent. It is hard, but it is just what I needed. The opportunities to love here are abundant. Rediscovering how to live faithfully in a world that does not agree with me has turned out to be a much-needed process, and I am still growing in that. Nothing is perfect, by any means. Nothing is easy. But hardship and beauty are not mutually exclusive.
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:5
We are called to be vessels for the light of Christ. I know you know this. Friends, the light shines through you even when you are unaware of it. People notice a difference in you. Believe me, they do. Be encouraged in that! If I have learned anything from my experience here thus far, it is that people notice your light. Keep living, keep loving, keep believing. Be bold and unafraid to share your light. We serve an awesome and all-powerful God, through whom anything is possible.
When abroad, you learn in ways that you simply cannot at home. I know that this is true for everyone. However, as a Christian, the things that I am being taught and the way that I am being taught is different than that of other world travelers. As Christians, we are told that we are to live in a way that goes against the world. We are in it but not of it, or at least we try our best to be. Because of this, we are constantly being pushed outside of our comfort zones, just by living every day.
Honestly though, after two years of fully pursuing Jesus, the lines between my own sphere of safety and full exposure have become blurred. I don't know where my comfort zone begins and ends. At least, I didn't until I came abroad.
Let me explain.
We have an extremely strong community of believers at Miami. Our community is so strong that it is entirely possible for us to go through entire days without encountering a single same-aged non-believer. Not a single. One.
This lack of worldly contact allows for us to remain inside a Christian bubble, essentially ignoring the world around us. We don't have to deal with the problems and the pressures of the world because we aren't living in it. We are removed from it, and thus, we remain inside of our comfort zones. We stay where we feel safe, and if we are pulled outside for a work shift or a lunch break or a class project, we are only gone for an hour or so, and we can endure the torture of the real world before we head back home to read our bibles and talk to our Christian friends that truly understand us.
This frustrates me to no end. It frustrates me that I fell into that paradigm for a little while at Miami, spending all my time running back and forth from one activity to another, all in the name of sacrificing my life for Jesus. I missed so many opportunities to live. I missed so many opportunities to love, to witness, to be the light that we are all called to be. It's true, I felt a little uncomfortable being different, but how could I have expected my differences to make any sort of impact when I kept myself hidden from those that needed the gospel the most?
quick side note:
I hope this doesn't sound too harsh. I'm not spiteful of my experiences thus far at Miami, nor am I condemning any member of my community there (Hi, guys! I love you! You're the best people I've ever met!). I just want to convey how sheltered we can be, even by accident. This is about my journey and growth. Please take it as such.
I ended this past year with a strong desire to be more present among my peers at Miami. I felt called to become integrated in the community that I had avoided for so long, the group of peers that I had thrown haphazardly aside in the name of sacrificing my time elsewhere. It was out of my hands, I told myself. I would get lunch with that girl, but I just don't have time. I would sit and talk with him about why I believe what I do, but I have to leave campus in twenty minutes! I wrote off those seeking my counsel in the name of busyness. I saw myself doing it, and I hated it, and I didn't know how to fix it. So I didn't.
On this trip, I am the only person that has been involved in any way with Young Life at Miami. I am one of a handful of practicing Christian girls, and all of us are at different places in our walk with God. I am in a foreign country where church is in French and I spend my Sunday mornings on planes and trains and buses. On this trip, I got my wish. I am among one hundred and twenty normal Miami students.
Let me tell you: it is hard to transition from being constantly surrounded by a deeply supportive, loving, and faithful community to living in a foreign country where community is almost nonexistent. It is hard, but it is just what I needed. The opportunities to love here are abundant. Rediscovering how to live faithfully in a world that does not agree with me has turned out to be a much-needed process, and I am still growing in that. Nothing is perfect, by any means. Nothing is easy. But hardship and beauty are not mutually exclusive.
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:5
We are called to be vessels for the light of Christ. I know you know this. Friends, the light shines through you even when you are unaware of it. People notice a difference in you. Believe me, they do. Be encouraged in that! If I have learned anything from my experience here thus far, it is that people notice your light. Keep living, keep loving, keep believing. Be bold and unafraid to share your light. We serve an awesome and all-powerful God, through whom anything is possible.