Next week marks one month since the Fellows program started, and my goodness it’s been quite the month! We went to the beach for 3 days, had a dance party, went to the White Water Center in Charlotte, made some music videos, started class, started jobs, laughed a ton, and started to see what it looked like to be vulnerable with one another. So much has happened that it’s hard to know where to start, but here’s a few things that I’ve learned thus far:
1. Every group of friends has different dynamics that you have to figure out. Joining a new group of people means learning how each other work, and it’s possible to have a much different role in one group of friends than another.
2. Getting to share an in-depth testimony (~45 minutes to an hours worth of talking) is one of the craziest, strangest, most FREEING things I have ever done. Vulnerability is tough, but I have seen the Holy Spirit work so clearly through it that I cannot deny its power any longer. Community and true, deep friendship/community requires truth and vulnerability.
3. Being new at a job is tough and weird. It’s easy to feel out of place, and it also requires getting to know another set of people and the personalities they bring along with the dynamics they cast.
4. Busyness requires that I take advantage of times of quiet to rest in the Lord, and I am really bad at taking advantage of those times. I want to grow in that this year.
5. Racquetball is FUN.
6. Living with a host family is the best, and it demonstrates to me the service-oriented and loving heart that Jesus has, and how He chooses to show that through other people.
7. Any life transition brings difficulties, no matter how many good and beautiful things may be a part of it as well.
8. Living in the present is essential to learning and growing the most, but it is also one of the most difficult things to do. Living in the past or future is often so much easier for my mind to take hold of.
I’ve learned and am still learning so much more than that, but I hope that can give a glimpse into what this past month has been like. I’m so excited to continue developing friendships with the 10 others in my program, and to continue growing in community together – keep praying for us!
Rachel