When I was unemployed and still trying to figure out what direction my life supposed to take, I spent a lot of time reading blogs. I don't know why I typed that sentence in past tense. I'm not currently employed within my profession, I will probably always be trying to figure out what direction to take, and I still spend a lot of time reading blogs.
This week I was reading one of my favorite writers, Jamie the Very Worst Missionary, when I came across something that was written by Jamie's husband, whom she likes to call "El Chupacabra." This post is called "Therefore GO" and can be read by clicking here. El Chupacabra points out that the verbs "to go" or "to come" appear more often in the Bible than any of the typical Christianese verbs (eg. to love, to pray, to worship etc...). El Chup talks about how our story is a story of movement. God doesn't usually pick a person out of the mass of humanity and then tell them to stay where they are. No, He usually tells them to GO do something.
This week I was reading one of my favorite writers, Jamie the Very Worst Missionary, when I came across something that was written by Jamie's husband, whom she likes to call "El Chupacabra." This post is called "Therefore GO" and can be read by clicking here. El Chupacabra points out that the verbs "to go" or "to come" appear more often in the Bible than any of the typical Christianese verbs (eg. to love, to pray, to worship etc...). El Chup talks about how our story is a story of movement. God doesn't usually pick a person out of the mass of humanity and then tell them to stay where they are. No, He usually tells them to GO do something.
"Therefore GO Noah and save humanity.
Therefore GO Abraham and build MY nation.
Therefore GO Moses and guide MY people.
Therefore GO Jesus and save my children." -elchupacabrawrites.com
Does that mean that all of us are going to go far away? Probably not. With wisdom the author explains that God gives us a life of purpose. He finishes the post with a challenge to examine our sense of purpose and go and do the things that God is calling us to.
This post is a response to El Chupacabra's challenge.
The paltry recap that I just gave of Therefore Go is nowhere near as cool or impacting as his original. Do yourself a favor. Read it. Then, go check out the stuff that his wife writes.
I am a human being. I pick my boogers (don't pretend like you don't do it too!), I am grumpy in the morning, and I am addicted to New Girl. I don't have all the answers. I usually feel somewhat excited when I say bad words, probably because I was never allowed to say them as a kid. I am also trying my best to be a Jesus follower, which means I am trying to do life the way that Jesus did it and failing epically along the way.
Looking back, I can see places where my faith in God and my imitation of the actions of Jesus have been a bit anemic and pale. I was one of THEM. You know, the Christian girls who only date Christian guys and who never rock the boat.
One of my friends in nursing school used to always tease me about dating Christian guys. "So Amanda, is your boyfriend a Christian? How is that working out for you?" "Yes, Ramon, he is a Christian. It's going great." If you imagined that response was in a false, cheery "everyone is fine" type voice then you had the right idea.
I am painfully realizing that my devotion to God has come with a lot of comfort and not a lot of risk. I have been playing it safe for a good portion of my life. I have been content living in the status quo. With my Christian friends I have been my best version of a "good girl." With my friends from work, school and rock climbing I have been the Christian girl who swears ocasionally and is really anxious to "love" people.
Lately, I have been realizing that I want to be more than the safe and secure Amanda. I want to be real. I want to be myself. I want the freedom to pick my boogers, to use adult language when it needs to be used, to learn what service really means, to suck at speaking Spanish, and to love Jesus like a crazy woman.
I know that my purpose as a human being is to LOVE God and LOVE people. I could spend my whole life trying to get those two down. Because I am a human being I am called to GO. And, maybe another part of my purpose is to be a risk taker? Maybe that is why I have struggled with wanting to be secure for so long? And maybe, this whole trip to Peru is a part of that. I'm hoping that I will get better at this along the way. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure that God likes me, boogers and all, and I think that He is going to GO along with me. In fact, as He likes to remind me, He goes in front of me and it's only because of Him that I do any of this.
The real question now is, what do YOU do with your boogers after you pick them?
I'm not going to tell because, a girl needs to keep the mystery alive, you know.
PS. I still only date Christian guys. Just in case you were wondering... Aggggh! What in the world? No more personal information I promise.
I just asked folks to tell me the very best thing they read all week. Among many other awesome links was one to this post with the comment "You'll like this post; it talks about boogers."
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOSH, I LIKE THIS POST. And not JUST because of the boogers, although boogers are a nice touch. (Incidentally, I wipe mine on the hem inside my shirt because - doy - they're out of sight but can be laundered later. What's that? I'm brilliant? What can I say? All glory to God, right?)
Anyway.
I do love this post, but I love it most of all for the fact that you're pursuing the authentic life, and that is the VERY BEST THING OF ALL.
Very well done.
Thanks for reading! The response to this post has been hilarious because some people hate the booger reference and for others it's what sucked them in in the first place.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say, I work with kids. Boogers are a real part of life.
Haha, it sounds like you do what most people do (with your boogers). You try to hide them where no one will see.
Ditto what Beth said!
ReplyDeleteI flick mine, unless there's a tissue within reach. And by "within reach", I mean "abandoned on the floor right next to me".