day 2 of the blogging experience:
so. most of you know that i've grown up an Auburn kid. ya know, the whole legacy thing of "my mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt uncle, grandmother, grandfather, and mailman went to school here". its true.. well except for the dad and sister part. my dad went to school at the "other" college in alabama and well, i dont have a sister. so.. anyways back to my point.. i KNEW this is where I wanted to go to college. in fact, i only applied 3 other places and that was just to say i branched out. I had my mind set on the "loveliest village on the plains". I grew up war eagle-ing, rolling toomers corner.. i BLEED orange and blue.. i've been coming to games since i was born.. I dont know, this place is just a part of me. so ok, you get that. well, when I was a senior in high school, embarking on my college decision making process, i pretty much told God what I was going to do. AUBURN. that was it. no ifs, ands, or buts about it. plain and simple ..i made it clear. well, for some odd reason, God worked out EVERYTHING to get me here. all the money, all the major/program stuff, all the parents fears of letting me go that far away from home my first year. EVERYTHING. looking back I dont really know how it worked that I TOLD God something and it happened. but that was His providence. My first year was REALLY hard. I felt really alone and really afraid. I held really close the 4 or 5 friends I made, and didnt branch out much farther than that. I was too scared. I even began to question if Auburn was the right place for me. I heard all the stories of my high school friends having all kinds of "fun" and I really wasn't able to relate. I think that intimidated me more than anything. I was SO prideful. I wanted to be able to relate, to tell them all these crazy cool stories about all the college fun i was having. I didn't want to admit that my decision actually may not have been the best for me. STILL I PRAYED. I prayed and prayed and prayed again that God would reveal himself to me somewhere in this town. well.. long story made short (well kinda).. He did. It wasn't until this year though... like 3 months ago. I never thought He'd answer to be honest. I had almost convinced myself that packing up and going home just might be the answer. I would just hop to and from schools until I felt I was in the right place. Again, I was just going to do what I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT. ugh! im such a loser! luckily, by His divine appointment, I was able to really see where He was leading me and what His will was for my life right now. IT'S HERE. THIS TOWN. AUBURN, AL. crazy i know. and this story has probably confused you more than ever. He actually had me where I had wanted all along. I wanted to be here just simply because HE was the very one who placed Auburn on my heart.. yes, even as a child.. because He knew it was right He knew what would be happening on this campus. He knew my desires., but prior to this, I had made it my decision.. my doings, not His. I hadn't given Him any credit. Even though this is where I wanted to be, I didn't allow Him to show me that. finally, He stepped in and His will became known to me during a special service at Encounter one night. After hurricane katrina, actually the very day after, we had church. and by church I mean blowing the roof off, real-what-God-intended-"church"-to-be-church. Matt, our campus minister, was ready to hold a special service (unbeknownst to him at the time just HOW special it was to be..) remembering and honoring those who were in the midst of strife in New Orleans, and other hard-hit areas. He began to speak that God was not a God of confusion, but One of peace (1 corinthians) and that He would not let this chaos and disorder defeat us. It was encouraging in a time of deep sadness and fear for our safety. But the most amazing time came when Matt felt the Lord calling him to take off his brand-new tennis shoes at the altar and lay them as a sacrifice for the King. He knew that the people in the devastated areas needed those dry, comfy shoes way more than he did. He began to challenge us (all 1000 of us) to take off our shoes.. no matter the name brand, the wear and tear, or the price.. and lay them at the altar as a sacrifice. I will not lie to you.. it was hard. I'm a girl and I LOVE SHOES. I was ashamed of how hard it was for me to take off my flip-flops, walk down the aisle and lay them at the feet of my Jesus. EMBARASSING. but the walk back to my seat is where God stepped in and spoke tenderly into me. I could feel the fuzzy carpet on my bare toes, and I looked down to see only my flesh. no fabric, nothing. just my feet. the first verse that came to mind was "how beautiful are the feet that bring good news".. how BEAUTIFUL WERE OUR FEET AS WE LAID DOWN OUR SHOES FOR HIM. tears welled up in my eyes and I just began to weep for my King. I saw precious women of Jesus lay their shoes down.. i saw big, tough God-fearing men lay shirts, books, bibles and shoes at the altar. and all across the room were BARE FEET. these bare feet that were the testament to our God. to our King. to our Redeember and Provider. and all they were were shoes. I saw North Face shoes, vasque boots, rainbows, reefs, yellowbox, nikes, new balance.. every kind of shoe you could imagine.. all laying at His feet. As we all began to sing and shout His praises after our amazing experience, God's favor began to fall on the sanctuary. God's presence was more thick than i have ever experienced. no retreat, no conference, no Passion,.. nothing compared to it. all for shoes. all to take what was on our feet to lay at His feet. This is when I knew that God wanted me here. I feel it an honor, a privilege, and one of God's GREATEST blessings to be a part of this community. Auburn is tied with Texas A&M for the number one public school with the greatest concentration of Christian students, and it is with great pleasure and PRIDE that i tell you.. these people are REAL. they are servants, leaders.. they are MEN AND WOMEN of integrity. a generation of believers. it is just a pleasure to be in their presence. CHURCH: IM SO PROUD TO BE A PART OF YOU.
God, you are soo good to me and I thank you that by your Divine placement, i am EXACTLY where I need to be. Resting in Your will is truly AMAZING.. and is nothing short of what you have promised me. May I follow you whereever it is that YOU lead me, and not trace my own selfish path. May I remember that it is not about Grace Campus, or Wesley, or any other organization, but it is about YOU. Thank you for Auburn, my amazing new friends and family, and the chance to see a generation that LIVES TO GLORIFY YOU. amen and amen and AMEN.
