Drew and I crushing the rest of the 6th grade boys in Mario Kart for small group breakouts
My first non-sick blog post!!!
Has it really only been 2 months? It honestly feels a lot longer. Between getting to know so many new people, deepening friendships with the other fellows, settling into my job, and the many deep discussions we have on an almost daily basis, it really feels like I’ve been here longer
Here are some highlights from the past month:
1: A renewed intimacy with God in prayer and study.
Now that I’ve started to adjust to my new environment and have been able to form new habits, my devotional life is coming back to life. Spending time alone with the Lord is often something that waxes and wanes throughout seasons of my life. Senior year and my summer leading up to fellows were filled with a lot of stress and anxiety about where I was going in my career and leaving behind old friendships. Sadly I found that my time with God was often unfruitful and my thoughts were constantly clouded over. This month has been the opposite. I feel like God is showing me new things in his word each day, and that prayer has become a renewed place of strength and delight in the love of God
2: The death of small talk
Don’t get me wrong, small talk isn’t all bad. But MAN was month 1 unbearable in this regard. The amount of newness was really overwhelming and I found myself resorting to the same dry conversation starters over and over again. I was constantly anxious that people wouldn’t really enjoy who I was so I kept more quiet than I normally would be. In month two I think I’ve been opening up a lot more, and have started feeling like myself again.
3: simple delights of everyday fellows life
Cooking fills me with so much life. It’s a creative exercise that clears my head, gives me something to be proud of, and lets me physically feel better than eating takeout all the time. Now that I’m developing more of a schedule and rhythm of life I’ve been able to cook more and it’s been wonderful. Dog sitting for the Mill’s was also a simple delight I got to enjoy this month. Getting to hangout with Maggie and Winston was a ton of fun and the added responsibility made me feel more fulfilled in the mornings before I left for whatever I was doing that day
Continued struggles and prayer requests
That hardest part of fellows is definitely energy management. For those who don’t know I have a condition know as EDS which causes me a decent amount of chronic pain and fatigue. This coupled with the busy nature of the fellows program often means that I’m fully burnt out by the end of each day. I don’t sleep as well as I should, I’m too reliant on caffeine, and I need to be more disciplined with my screen time. Prayers for wisdom in this area of my life would be greatly appreciated
For God to increase what he has already started. This month has show the first fruits of a lot things I believe that Lord wants to work in me over the course of these 9 months. And to that I say “More Lord!”. More intimacy with God! More intentional conversations/relationships! More gratitude in daily life! More healthy habits and responsible living! More discernment over my calling! Everything God is already doing, please pray that he does it in even greater measure
To all my Friends, Family, Donors, and prayer warriors interceding on my behalf, thank you for everything
Until next time
-Elijah McGrath