Presence

Once again, it has been quite a long time since I last updated this site. I can't believe that I'm actually writing again simply because I've been paralyzed not by the length of time it has been since my last post, but by the sheer amount of things that I have learned in the past few months that I could write about in this little corner of the inter-webs. For those of you who don't know, I just started my first semester of grad school back here at Taylor in the Masters of Higher Ed program. It has been kind of a whirlwind of retreats (which Christians apparently love more than any other people group in the world), classes, spontaneous time with my girlfriend (who is also in the program) and time on the job. Needless to say, I have been a fair bit busier than I expected when I first came into the program.

As I said earlier, it has been hard to determine what to write about as I felt like I've learned a good deal in my short time here. MAHE has given me a great deal to process, not to mention my assistantship or let alone this past summer. Up until now, I've not really been ready to write on any of these things because they are so deeply personal or because they are full of half-thoughts that would be very confusing for you to read (much like most of my thoughts - my apologies). However, tonight I had dinner with one of the missionaries I got to know while I spent some time in Southeast Asia and it reminded me of my experience and caused me to reflect a bit on my experience there and what I've learned from it.

While I was in SE Asia, I was hit by the impact of a person's presence. The people we met there were so great at sitting and chatting with any of us and taking time out of their busy days to just be with us. That lesson hit me hard as I came back to the States and had to readjust to our fast-paced culture once again. I thought I was doing pretty well at making time for my friends or taking life slow. When I thought more about this, I realized that I was wrong. I have been doing a terrible job at slowing down enough to be able to stop and have a conversation with someone. I've forgotten to be fully present.

In a time in my life when I'm trying to figure out what I'm actually doing with my life, it is easy for me to forget to care enough to stop and relax. I want to soak in the short moments I have during my grad program and allow for God to speak in ways that I don't hear as easily when I'm moving too fast. If I am to be involved with student development, then I need to be more aware of opportunities to invest in others even when it seems inconvenient for me.