(So this was our journey to Cali and back again, From August 27 to October 4... We had a conference in San Diego, so my parents decided to turn the trip into a cross country road trip... I wrote a somewhat detailed account of the whole journey, but instead of posting the whole thing here, I would be more than happy to email it to you if you'd like to read it; just leave me a comment and let me know!)
On this journey we obviously got to see a lot of this beautiful country. It's so diverse, so beautiful beyond imagination. But at our conference in San Diego, I was reminded about what really matters in life and how I should really be spending the time on this earth that God has given me. Jesus came to the earth to serve, not to be served (Matthew 20:28), and on this long journey across the US, I've been thinking a lot.... is what I'm doing right now serving myself, my own desires, or am I spending each day reaching out and serving others, making a lasting impact?
I think traveling can be a great part of education. I know that for me personally, traveling to foreign countries has been a big part of my education and realization to the life that God is calling me to live. At our conference in San Diego I learned so much about some of the beautiful work that God is doing around the world and about how I can be more involved with His work and use what He has given me to glorify Him. I was reminded once again how I should be using the time and money God has given me. Colossians 1:16 says "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him." I was created by Him, for Him. This is a great reminder for me that I need to be spending each day focusing on being a part of God's beautiful, eternal plan, not spending my days on selfish desires that have no lasting value and at the end of the day don't matter at all. Dan Hasltine, lead singer of Jars of Clay and founder of Blood: Water Mission (bloodwatermission.com) made a sobering comment at the conference that has stuck in my mind: "We care deeply about things that don't matter, most of the time." I want God's desires to be my desires. I don't want to care about things that He doesn't care about. Because when it comes down to it, traveling the world for my own pleasure, spending my time and money on things that will pass away, have no lasting value. When I'm gone from this earth I want to have lived out each moment not for myself but for Him- for those He has called me to serve, because at the end of the day I have found that this is only thing that is truly fulfilling, the only thing worth really living for. Jason Russel, one of the founders of Invisible Children (InvisbleChildren.com), said during one of the conference sessions, "The best way to save the future is to create it."
Approximately 26,000 children die every day from starvation or a diseases that is completely preventable, and most of them have no idea that they were created for something greater than this life. Truly following Christ means taking care of the poor, caring for orphans and widows. If I don't spend my life on behalf of the poor and reaching out to those in darkness, then I have missed the purpose of my life.
Change is happening. There are countless organizations that are dedicated to ending poverty by bringing the hope of Christ to the lost and suffering (for some examples I have a small list to the left under 'be a part!'). God's plan is continuing to unfold, and there is nothing greater to me than being a part of it. I am eternally thankful for the truths that God has been revealing to me, and I am continually learning that true joy comes from following Jesus' example and being free from loving the things of this world.
Micah 6:8- He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
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