4/10: young'uns

omg...im so behind on these posts...ahhhh!!!!  almost been a week....yikes!

ok so this past sunday was a strange and unusual nearly 80-degree sunny day.  craziness...it felt like a whole new season.  students busted out in their flip flops, shorts, skirts, and that carefree happiness that had been buried under the winter snow -- the kind of blithe and lighthearted cheer that comes hand-in-hand with good ole sunshine.  reminded me of summer.

and speaking of summer, after sunday celebration, i hung out with nayoung.  we were initially going to go to zingerman's roadhouse for lunch to check off something on my ann arbor to-do list, but after my convictions about intercession and fasting from the past week, personally, those plans seemed mischievous.  although i was a little sheepish sharing with her why we couldn't go to zingerman's that day, im thankful because nayoung was completely understanding and flexible.  and i guess a part of me wasn't too surprised that she would have been okay with the last-minute change b/c i think she of all people understands the "inconvenience" of obedience.

so instead of going off to eat at zingerman's, we picked up some panera smoothies and chilled out on the diag, basking in the sunshine, catching up, before transferring to a ledge by the flagpole and engaging in a small worship/prayer session.  that was nice.  it was nice to be able to worship and pray that afternoon outside in the sun, outside on the very campus in which God is moving, outside in the view of the students for whom we should be interceeding.  it was nice b/c instead of the standard meal or cafe meetup, we were worshiping and communing with the God who first brought us together years ago through our church's Community Summer Missions Project, praising and praying to the God who strengthened our relationship through serving together in life group this past spring/summer.  instead of making that afternoon about ourselves, i think we were truly able to center that time on Christ.

thats what i really appreciate about my relationship with nayoung -- Christ rests in the center.  our personalities don't naturally click, we share very few interests, and her strengths are my weaknesses and vice-versa.  im amazed b/c i think nayoung and i represent opposite sides of a spectrum, and maybe the only thing we really share in common is our love and followership of Jesus Christ.  but its awesome because these differences -- her qualities -- have not only challenged me, but also served as avenues for my own personal growth.

confession: im an age-ist.  it might be because i have a younger brother, so i've always had this weird superiority complex when it comes to age, but in my head, there exist these lines clearly delineating those who are younger against my peers and against those who are older.  its not that i can't befriend people of different ages, but i think there's always been that subconscious categorization of people whom i can look up to, people to "take care of," and people with whom i can just be myself around.  consequently, its very rare for me to "admire" people who are younger than me.  nayoung is one of those few.  she doesn't directly challenge me with speeches and sermons; she challenges me indirectly by simply being who she is.  i'm inspired and challenged by her honest, very real, and audacious pursuit after God, and her striving to be holy before the Holy of holies. 

her differences also challenge me.  that afternoon, when we were sharing on the diag, the most excited she became was when she was sharing about a particular non-believer in her life.  she was so animated and so genuinely excited about how God was moving in this girl's life.  im all about the one-on-one meetup, the "how are you doing," the "let's talk about your issues and your struggles."  but nayoung's completely different.  there is a humbling passion not for her own issues, but for God's movement in the lost.  evangelism is not something comes naturally for me, and i count it as a sovereign privilege to have been able to serve alongside a sister whose very heart and soul seem to encompass around not her own personal issues, but the salvation of the lost.  her passion for pre-Christians and her genuine animation regarding God's handiwork in their lives inspire me.  i hope that one day she can see that her own story, a story that God is continually writing every day, is just as captivating and awe-inspiring as the stories she can see in the nonbelievers around her.

nayoung tuning the guitar for our worship/prayer session

afterwards, met up with christina.  more smoothies.

christina

our meeting was more of a reflective one, as we thought back on the year, on things she had learned, on areas of continual growth.  although we're not particularly close, i was a little sad during our meetup because i think she was the first life group member with whom its fully hit me that i really won't be in ann arbor next year to see how God is going to continue moving and working in these guys' lives.  man.  i've written about this before, but one of the best parts about life group ministry happens after your very own life group.  when you see God continuing His work in your members' lives long after your own year with them is up, its indescribable.  you start to see the fruits of seeds that you had been hoping and praying were planted on good soil.  you start to see answered prayers.  you start to see the transformative power of God.  gosh, its awesome and absolutely amazing.  and though i know that there will be email updates, its different from being able to witness them love people, love their new life groups, invest in younger classes,grow in worship and prayer.  i know that God will continue to do his work in members like christina, and im sad that i won't be able to see this firsthand next year.

life group ministry is such a privilege.  its such a privilege to be able eyewitness God's transformative power.  selfishly, im sad that i won't be able to see firsthand God's course with some of these guys.  selfishly, i wish i could have the best of both worlds and be able to follow along this path God has set for my vocational vision, while continuing to be a part of these guys' lives in the coming years.  but walking from my time with christina to planning meeting, i think God helped remove this selfishness and filled my heart with a simple thankfulness in that God is a God who is always moving regardless of life group, regardless of surroundings, regardless of the people around us, regardless of the leaders who stay or go.  God moves and transforms us not because of who we are and who is around us, but because of who He is.  and during planning meeting, i felt so...idk...satisfied with just the simple truth that God will move in these guys with His complete power, authority, and love.  even if i might not be able to see it in the years to come, that simple and beautiful truth is enough.