My tendency is always to plan things out for myself which means sometimes I miss what God might have in store. I am a planner. It’s not that I get enjoyment from planning things, but it eases my stress. Not too long ago, I had my life planned out, almost every detail you could possibly imagine; I knew what I wanted. Finishing up my junior year of high school, I was a 17-year-old kid that thought I had it all figured out. I would go to college, play soccer, and graduate Pre-Med. From there I’d go on to medical school to begin training so I could save lives just like my family’s favorite T.V. show, E.R.
At that time, my relationship with God was not my biggest priority. I went to church and participated in the youth group, but my faith stayed within the church walls. Eventually I stopped going to church and youth group altogether. My only connection to God fell apart, and I didn’t make a big effort to put back the pieces. Instead, I kept my focus on planning my future.
A month before graduating high school, my plan started falling apart. I had accepted a pretty big scholarship and committed to playing soccer at a small school in small town Mississippi and was thrilled to be going there. But then, one day, things changed for me. I had to email the coach and tell him that I would no longer be going there to play soccer. I often think back about that decision, and see how God used that decision to redirect me to what I was being called to do.
However, at that time, I was 17 and didn’t think that way. So I moved on. I graduated and stumbled into my freshman year at University of Alabama at Birmingham. I declared my major as Chemistry and started the Pre-Med route. Through volunteering at a children’s hospital, my eyes were opened to the fact that a doctor ‘s life wasn’t what my TV shows had depicted; the medical profession began to lose its attractiveness. My once perfect plan was no longer a plan at all. I knew I wouldn’t be happy being in the medical profession, but I had no idea what to do.
Then I found something that has changed my life. In the back of my closet, I found my old camp passport still hanging on its lanyard. When I was in the youth group, we attended PASSPORT camp in North Carolina. I read over the daily devotions, the themes and notes I had jotted down about God, faith, and camp. Reading my notes reignited my call to God and the church and I decided to apply to work at PASSPORT.
I entered the summer not knowing what to expect. For the first time, I was not planning my life, but instead sitting back and understanding that following God’s prompts were helping me to discover the calling God was continuing to reveal to me. I realized that planning things out was keeping me from being open to God in my life. I felt God leading me, rather than trying to find my way on my own. It was at PASSPORT I felt the call to ministry and was surrounded by a community of fellow staffers that helped me talk out this new calling in my life.
After that summer I went on to serve two more summers at PASSPORT. This past summer I served as the Assistant Director on the PASSPORTmissions team, where I was challenged to grow as a follower of Christ. I was placed into a leadership role more than I ever have been before. I witnessed Christ through all the campers and chaperones, as well as other staffers. I gained experience about what ministry looks like, something I would have never have dreamed of pursuing back in high school. Above all, I got to have fun all summer. I got to build relationships with people that share the same passions for Christian ministry; I got to witness staffers and youth ministers invest their time and energy towards providing a safe place for young ministers to explore callings in a new way.
This fall I started my seminary training in Atlanta at the Candler School of Theology, where one day I would like to become a youth minister. But who knows where that can lead?! I’ve learned not to make my own plans. Wherever God continues to lead me, I will always be forever grateful for my time as a PASSPORT staffer.
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Interested in being a PASSPORT staffer this summer?