The Lord continues to open doors I didn’t even know were in
front of me. A year ago (Summer of 2012), I never guessed I’d be called
to serve in Detroit, let alone be there at all. A year ago I gave the Lord
the saddest excuse for a “yes” as I finally decided to do a Kairos
Gap year.
The Lord had to close every other door so that I could realize His calling.
I have never been able to identify one spiritual life-changing event in
my life until now. Not that that was the point of my Gap year, but it happened.
On August 23, 2012 my life (rooted in darkness and selfishness) came
crashing down as I boarded the plane for Detroit. As I became a resident
in Detroit I was ripped out of my comfort zone and my destructive ways
only to find myself captivated by the love of Christ in such a broken city.
I was blindsided by the presence of the Lord in moments and places where
I least expected it. There are no words to properly explain the love that
radiates out of such a broken city. It’s a brokenness that can only be
healed through God’s love and grace. A healing process that the Lord manifests
through us. It’s so mysterious and powerful that it can only be associated
with God, and that’s where I found myself this year. I was launched into
an intense spiritual realm that I barely was familiar with.
As my Gap year drew to a completion, I had another spiritual quest to
embrace – Detroit
Summer Outreach. I inevitably experienced the Lord
through the witness/faith of the broken, the rigorous household life style,
and the unplanned situations that occurred on a daily basis. There’s something
to be said for living with a group of guys, getting up at six in the morning
to pray together, and then going out and serving with the same brothers.
Somehow this experience is amplified in the city of Detroit and it’s only
a two month program! It’s amazing how such an intense way of life is so
life-giving. How through the pain of giving up ones desires one experiences
freedom.
I couldn’t have even faked this testimony last year. The Lord works
in Detroit and has worked through me, a hopeless cause, all because I gave
what I saw as a sad excuse for a yes. I’m still trying to articulate how
the Lord has worked in my life this year, but one thing I can say is that
I genuinely know that God is a necessity in life. A necessity that I need
to pursue.
See related stories from
YouthWorks-Detriot >
