.shells.

i was sitting here tonight reading through some old letters and emails. every once in awhile i come back to this blog i have saved on my computer. one day a few months after i arrived in australia, i came across this on my friend's blog page, that i had never noticed before. i was surprised to see my photo at the top of the blog and even more surprised to read what he wrote. this is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me and means even more knowing that he didn't just write it to make me feel good about myself or to say what he thought he should say. he didn't even tell me he wrote it. but looking back almost 3 years later, i can truly say it has shaped me and my life here. it changed me. in numerous ways, it has become a big part of me (so much so, that you may have noticed it inspired the quote at the top of my blog page). and it has been a reminder to me to focus on my own sense of call and direction and let the rest of the things in my life (my shells) drop into place around it . but most of all, it means a lot because since the first time i read it i have been able to come back to this when i've been in doubt, wondered why i am here and what i'm doing, feeling lonely or sad or distant from all the things and people i moved away from. it reminds me of my purpose. it sets me straight. and it reminds me that if nothing else, there was at least one person who, at one time, believed in me and supported me in going where i felt i was being led...

I had the recent opportunity to spend a weekend in Canada with two very good friends. While it was considered a mini vacation for me, as I’m sure it was for the others, it was more because one of them was leaving for Australia and would be gone for a few years. Okay, maybe you didn’t catch that - my friend is leaving for Australia for a few YEARS. Let me tell you a little about her story, then maybe it will sink a little better for you.

For sake of anonymity, we will call said Australian bound friend Rachelle. Rachelle spent two years with me at Oklahoma State University studying leadership. Actually, she put up with me for a year in the same building. Rachelle is pretty unique though. She handled my uniqueness like she had known me forever and taught me quite a few lessons along the way. It was always our goal to take over the world at some point, but we always set our sights within reason and decided to take over OSU first. We did. We practically owned that place when we left. We let a few people in, like a character named Tapley, but few others had the candor or brains to master what we had in the works.

The reason I bring Rachelle into this blog is because she has done something that few others in this world have done. She left her family, friends, and everything that is familiar to her to pursue the few things God has for her. Rob Bell’s Shells 020 Nooma speaks about having so many tiny fragments of shells in our hands as we walk down the beach that when we see something whole and complete, like a starfish in the water, we can’t pick it up because we are holding too many shells. In other words, we have so many things going on in our lives that when that one thing that God has called us to do comes along, we can’t pick it up or say “yes” because we are holding too much already.

Rachelle has made a commitment to work for the church and serve in the ministry for four years. For four years she will be away from everything she has known because she was able to pick up the few things that God has called her to do. What an honor it is to know someone like this. Thank you “Rachelle” for following God’s calling and sacrificing so much of your life to do his will.

So my question to you is this: what are you holding on to, what can’t you say “no” to and what things have filled your hands to the point where you can’t pick up and say “yes” to the few things God has for you? For me - I have a lot of things that I’m holding on to. But I look at Rachelle and those who have sacrificed so much of their lives to serve in the ministry, and I see hope for what is in store for me. I’m working on slowly dropping those small things that tie up my hands so that when God calls me to the big picture I will be ready to grab on with both hands and enjoy the ride!