Leaving the known behind

With there being a little less than 3 weeks before I leave for training for 3 weeks, I have been finding myself thinking about what I am leaving behind and my family. I have known all year that if I entered into ministry then I would be leaving my friends, family, and everything that I knew behind but it didn’t hit me until I was in the vehicle with my sister heading to my college roommates house for her wedding rehearsal. It was then that it truly dawned on me that I would be leaving my family and friends behind for 2 years. This is one of the harder parts of going into ministry since I have a 5 year old niece and nephew, a 4 year old nephew, and a almost 1 year old nephew and I have been around them since they were born.

Transitions are not always easy and people change and that struck me when I attended my college roommates, Brittney, wedding as a bridesmaid. I realized that she will be changing and that the times we had in college wouldn’t happen again. We wouldn’t be going to Chuck-E-Cheese in order to procrastinate from studying for finals, we wouldn’t be getting tax free food from the food courts on campus, we wouldn’t be living together, and we wouldn’t be seeing each other every day or at least every week. College was a great time and I enjoyed the memories that were made but I wish that I could continue living as I did in college. However, I am aware that we have graduated and that it’s time to go out into the world to make a difference. I was a member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and the saying that they have is “students and faculty transformed, campuses renewed, and WORLD CHANGERS DEVEOLOPED.” Yeah, WORLD CHANGERS, but we can’t make a difference in the world or even in other states of the United States, as I will be doing unless we leave what we have known behind. But then again, it’s not saying goodbye and I am not loosing friends since as the Michael W. Smith song “Friends” says “Friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them” and with technology these days, we will be able to stay connected and remain forever roomies or friends and family! However it’s still not easy.

After that realization and as the days come to an end and the day that I leave draws closer, I find myself not wanting to leave my family or friends but wanting to spend as much time as I can with them before I leave for 2 years. I guess you can say that I am finally realizing the importance and gift of family and friends.

I know that I am greatly going to miss my family since 2 years is a long time but I am also very much looking forward to and excited about the 2 years of working in Texas and doing ministry. This has been the calling on my life for a few years now and God has given me the opportunity to pursue that calling and see where things will take me. With having to leave my friends and family behind, there are some verses that come to mind where Jesus called His followers to leave things behind in order to follow Him.  The cost of following Jesus and saying yes to ministry is sacrificial and it’s not always going to be easy but God has promised that He will be our strength since He doesn’t expect us to make it on our own but with God, all things are possible and it’s very rewarding to follow Him and follow His calling and will for our lives. For me, that calling and will is ministry so I continue to say yes and rely on His strength and guidance.

"As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

“Peter tried another angle: “We left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Mark my words, no one who sacrifices house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, land—whatever—because of me and the Message will lose out. They’ll get it all back, but multiplied many times in homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—but also in troubles. And then the bonus of eternal life! This is once again the Great Reversal: Many who are first will end up last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:28-31)