| From the Campus Pastor
I stood in my living room the other day surveying the semi-chaos. Although we have been officially living in our home for about two months, we are still not all the way settled. A few boxes that we dragged in from the garage are half-unpacked, pictures lean against the walls, and the pantry closet is in the process of being reorganized and gapes at us with a toothy grin of cereal, flour, and granola bars.
"Be patient," my husband Clint reminds me as he clears off the table for dinner.
"Can we do a cooking project?" my 5-year-old daughter asks as she takes in all the possibilities that a house in half-order presents to her.
"I just want it all to be done and in place," I say as I try to locate the can opener.
The words, "I just want it all to be done and in place" have echoed in my head these past few weeks as I have been transitioning into my new life at George Fox. The reality of being in a new place requires extra energy and more time. In the last two months we have packed a moving truck, driven across the country on a five-day adventure from Kentucky to Oregon, unpacked a moving truck, bought a house, sold a house, started kindergarten, started a new, wonderful ministry at George Fox, and found the nearest Target. I have wanted the transition to be quick and easy so that I could be fully immersed in this new culture and life. But like all living things, culture and relationships take time to grow. There is no instant, magic "I Dream of Jeannie" blink to completion.
Last spring, a friend sent my daughter caterpillar larvae. We watched the larvae grow and cocoon themselves, then built a butterfly house and transplanted the cocoons to branches in their new home. Every day we watched with great anticipation to see if the butterflies would emerge. We watched with delight when their wet wings expanded for the first time and they took their first flight (or, rather, hop) from branch to branch. When we let them go free a few days later, the butterflies perched on our palms and waited until their body temperature warmed from our hands before they darted away. The process of it all caught my attention. There was no hurrying their development; it just took time.
My own journey into the heart of Jesus is much slower than I would like. Full of process and waiting, I beat my own wings on the cocoon, wanting to fly sooner than it is time to do so. But Jesus is patient with me in the process, knowing that there are no shortcuts to my spiritual development, but that every stage is significant and necessary. And so I wait, with bated breath, to see where Jesus will take me next and how much more clearly I will be able to see Him at work in my life.
It is an honor and privilege to be present with your student during this time of their life as they listen to the call of God on their lives and move toward wholeness and holiness. In chapel we have heard from Wes Davis, the pastor of New Life Church in Silverdale, Wash., challenge us to be on mission with Jesus and to accept the invitation to follow Jesus wherever He would go, instead of trying to fit Jesus into our life and plans. Karen Covell, director of the Hollywood Prayer Network, encouraged us to live into our call to be a missionary in whatever context we are placed and to pray for the film industry, that we might influence the influencers. The vice president of church relations from World Vision, Steve Haas, soberly reminded us of the millions of AIDS orphans around the world and challenged us to live as people of justice and compassion.
Chapel is all about practicing listening to God together and remembering the story of God. I am inviting each student to be on a journey of this kind of listening and, being in Jesus, that they might have changed hearts to change the world for Jesus Christ. It's all about the process, however, and that takes time and work. As Eugene Peterson says, discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction.
So I sit on my olive-green couch in my living room today surveying the process. It will simply take time for everything to come into place. It's a good picture of the spiritual life for me to remember for myself and our students. Learning to walk with Jesus in freedom and toward wholeness is all about process. I am so glad that I get to be here to walk with them.
Sarah Thomas Baldwin
Campus Pastor
Director of Campus Ministries
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