.
My GAP
Year in Glasgow
by Mariah Waraksa
This past year I took some
time off of from school to do a GAP year
in Glasgow, Scotland. During my time
away I traveled, met extraordinary
people, and deepened my faith in God
through Scripture studies and the
witness of others. I also did various
services within and outside of the
Community of the Risen Christ (a Sword
of the Spirit Community in Glasgow). All
of the service I did impacted my life in
a great way, but there are two
particular areas of service that touched
my life in a very unique way.
At times I can be a difficult person to
get along with. This is an area of
weakness which I have been
trying to improve. There was a
particular relationship I during my GAP
year that began with a high level of
mutual annoyance. This blinded me to the
fact that I could, potentially, get
along with this person.
At the beginning of the year when we
received our service assignments, it
turned out that we had been given the
same service and had to work together
every week. At first the work assignment
was quite difficult for me. The events
we ran weren't didn't seem to be well
coordinated. This was due, at least in
part, to my lack of communication and my
arrogant attitude.
During the 40 days of Lent, however,
things began to change. I could tell
this person was deliberately putting
more effort into our relationship and
becoming kinder towards me. This
encouraged me, in a huge
way, to put the past behind me and to go
forward by imitating the kind actions I
was receiving.
As our relationship grew, we were able
to carry out our services a million
times better. Communication became like
second nature to us. Through all of the
service we did together and the
dedication we put into our events, we
became like siblings.
"I am
eternally thankful to God that
He gives us the graces
we
need to overcome our
weaknesses."
The other service I had that greatly
impacted my GAP year was a bit
different. A few times each week I would
travel up to a rougher area of Glasgow
to take part in some programs at a
community center called The Preshal
Trust. The Preshal Trust is a place for
ex-addicts, alcoholics, people with
different mental and physical
disabilities.
At first it was quite nerve-wrecking to
go there. All these people had gone
through so much - I felt like I had
basically had my life handed to me on a
silver platter. These people knew real
trial and real suffering - why would
they want to talk to me?
Boy, was I wrong! They are some of the
most courageous, caring, accepting
people I've ever met. I felt a
particular blessing through a friendship
I built with a woman named AnneMarie. At
first I didn't know what to make of her,
but after hearing about her life,
personal difficulties and the things she
had overcome, I was truly inspired by
her. She changed my life for the better
through the love she showed me. Whenever
it had been awhile since we'd seen each
other, the beaming smile coming from her
face and the squeals of excitement I
would hear would soften my heart and
give me a sense of joy and love that I'd
never experienced before. The day I had
to say goodbye to Annemarie was one of
the hardest days of my life. She tells
me that I changed her life, but I feel
that she completely changed mine.
One of the big things I learned through
these experiences was that doing service
for others actually does lead to growth.
The more you serve and put your best
foot forward with a good attitude, the
deeper you grow in faith and in
relationships with family and friends.
Serving others taught me that making the
sacrifice to be kind, even in the
smallest way, can change even the
hardest of relationships. No matter how
small, a good deed never goes unnoticed.
Through my service in Preshal, I learned
that you cannot judge a book by its
cover - there is so much to people that
lies beneath the surface and taking time
to build relationships can go really far
for both people.
"For
you were called to freedom
brethren;
only
do not turn your freedom
into the opportunity for the
flesh,
but
through love serve one
another."
Galatians
5:13
Hello!
My name is Mariah, I am 19 years old and
I am a part of the People of Hope
Community in New Jersey, where I was
born and raised. My family is very
important to me. I have three sisters
and two brothers. I'm a massive New York
Rangers fan. After taking this next year
to work, I am hoping to go to school to
finish my education education and be an
elementary school teacher! I love to
travel and wish to travel all around the
world someday.
This article was reprinted
with permission from The Lovely
Commission.
The
Lovely Commission is a new
publishing venture and brand of Kairos
North America. It is is run by Molly
Kilpatrick and Mary Rose Giles and a
team of contributors from various
Christian communities in North America
and beyond. Together they are working to
build a culture of radical love,
femininity, modesty of heart, mind, and
body amongst young women.
Their
aim is to inspire and equip young women
to embrace and promote a culture of
Godly femininity in which we live out
our rich identity as daughters of God
and disciples of Jesus Christ.
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