No kidding, right? Life doesn't get super exciting when all of a sudden you've gotta take it easy. You kinda just sit and coast through the day, coping with a nose that threatens to overflow with every passing moment and every thing that hurts normally hurts a little bit more. A forty-seven on an old chemistry test irritates me beyond belief, I haven't ever really done this bad in a course. I just really hope to pass and get the hell out.
I figure I've filled you in with the symptoms, they don't really matter anyway. My throat's still burning, thought you might like to know.
I've been trying to spend more time home with my family recently because I've been spending a lot of time thinking about priorities and making my life favorable to God before it's favorable to society, friends, and even family. When you're a teenager, the world wants to tell you that everything in your life will eventually bubble down to your high school report cards, what college you get into, and how your resume looks. There's a lot of great things you learn in school, but most of them aren't taught and what is taught is really only the weights to the exercise. You can either go to school to learn about molecular formulas you never plan to look at again or to exercise your mind as a whole, get a solid mental workout, and progress your general learning. Life is more than your numbers, honestly.
Now, the best thing to do in school is to learn maximally. Don't think that just because they're not the most important thing that you should disregard them at all. While you're learning in school and have no opportunities to work on anything more important, dedicate your all to that. "Be here now," remember? Get as good of grades as you can pull off before they become a distraction, then move on to the next thing. As long as you maintain perspective, doing well in school is a great thing. Many pursue that five-point religiously, though, which is ultimately going to be a big waste of time if it sacrificed other, more important things. In the future, I would much rather my kids become great men or women of God than nuclear physicists, doctors, or lawyers. When we all die, it's not our payrolls that we look back on and wish we made higher. I'd rather not make that realization too late.
Family matters more than school. School matters more than sports. Worship matters more than family by itself. These are the kinds of things that decisions should be made upon. Priorities give you a solid, they shouldn't move around or be compromised too often.
So this is what happens when you're left with a sick Stevie. He thinks a lot and does a little.
"Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. For in Him the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority."
Colossians 2:8-10
This is a little to the side, but I'd really appreciate some prayer for this. I've been spending a lot of time online in my Virtual High School course on Philosophy and a combination of a lot of Christian and non-Christian ideas are constantly presented. The content is of a subject matter that exposes those with intricate relationships with God pretty quickly; for those of us that are this way, nearly every post almost has to connect personally to God. It's really easy to start pondering and thinking alternative ways though, whether to relate to another or to fulfill the assignment of answering likewise. I just pray that I can continue to stand solid underneath this pressure and both a brilliant light and a strong salt to those around me.
Also, at PBBK tonight there were several missionaries you can pray for. Most of the organizations I heard from were from downtown Newark, so they work mostly with taking inner-city people of all ages, setting them up on their feet, bringing them back into the working world, and connecting them with God. Several of the people that come in suffer with alcohol or drug abuse or violence.
There were also two from Campus Crusade, an organization which works with college students, giving a positive alternative to the fraternity/sorority lifestyle full of sex too early, getting wasted, and experimenting with drugs. Their organization seems to do well.
Then there were the two who stuck at most to me: a husband and a wife from a family that serves the Wolof people of Senegal. Altogether, they are comprised of 90% Sunni Muslims, 6% Animists, and 2% Christians. They also combine Islam and Animism to meet people on two levels: Islam for eternal matters and Animism (basically witch doctor stuff) for their daily affairs. These people have been in the region three years, can speak the Wolof language, and mainly focus on boosting whatever traces of Christianity they can find.
Hearing the story of these missionaries from Senegal gave me an idea that I hope to implement sometime later in my life. I love to serve people and I love to learn languages, so if I ever get an opportunity to go to some region to bring truth, spread the gospel, and eliminate widespread lies regarding eternity, I would love to do related missionary work. It doesn't have to be in Africa, either. I could spend time in China working underground. I could spend time in Pakistan being bold and exposed. I could go almost anywhere, anywhere I'm called, and would love that kind of opportunity. You can cover that as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment