But Friday was just a great affirmation of God's goodness and faithfulness. Let me walk you through it (sorry it's just a tad lengthy... :P)
6:36 AM
*Wake up*
...
...
*Fall back asleep*
7:00 AM
.... Dang it, definitely just did not wake up when I was supposed to...
/... ...
*quickly shower*
*text Nathan and co. that I'll be out soon*
This semester, Nathan and I started a time of morning devotionals with the guys from our small group. For now, we're striving to meet once during the school week at 7 am for an hour before anyone may have 8 am classes or activities. Not everyone has been super consistent coming out, and some days we start late, but it has still been such a huge blessing over the past month and a half.
It's been a great time of fellowship, worship, prayer, time in the Word, and I love the willingness and desire everyone has had to, as Mika put it, grow "our vertical relationship with the Lord as central/strong[ly]... as the horizontal relationships that we have with each other." Although the past summer felt like such a dry season, it has been a blessing to see the ways that God recognizes and has been blessing these sincere and thirsty hearts.
8:00 AM
*bus to Barker for work-study lab assistant job*
Friday was probably the last day I'll be going into the lab until 2014, and simply having a really low-key job this semester has already been a blessing in of itself, but above that, I realized the ways that God has spoken to me through this newly acquired job.
Yeah, I do a lot of menial work like wash the dishes, take out the trash and recycling, restock the inventory, but I also get the opportunity to make agar plates and broth. I mean, obviously, it's not like research or anything, but it's still... kinda.... a little legit... ish. But anyway, because I make agar plates and broth, I have to autoclave (sterilize) the material for around an hour and half before I can actually begin pouring the plates or broth. Usually, during that time, I have a lot of spare time, and I get to just chill and wait for the autoclave to finish.
The past few weeks, I've gotten the chance to just journal and word barf to God, and it's been great. This past week, I didn't really have the chance to do that (but instead I got to catch up with Marissa, which was really good too! c:), but I was just reminded of a portion of a tumblr post I read recently:
Romans 8 says we don't even know what to pray for as we ought, so the Spirit intercedes for us! Take heart, friend.
If you struggle to pray, to keep quiet, and tame your thoughts before God, know you're not alone. And know that it pleases our father's heart whenever you "waste" time on Him.
Time is best spent when it's wasted on God
As I went through work, Filled With Glory was just stuck in my head, and I kept muttering it under my breath, and although I don't feel like I really knew how to be intentionally praying, I felt such a peace that I was able to just "waste" my time with God - just staying in His presence, knowing He is sovereign.
1:00 PM onwards to 2:00 AM
But the excitement didn't stop there. Friday was our Crossroads/AACF joint large group, and oh my, there were just SO many praises for the day. From 1:30 - 4:20 pm, Nathan and I baked with Ramsey at Royston 308, and it was a really enjoyable time of fellowship. Even if we didn't get to like... retail our life stories or anything, just spending time with other fellow sisters was really nice.
Afterwards, we headed over to worship practice. Practice itself started a little off. Most of us were not particularly punctual, and the practice didn't go... particularly smoothly either, but praise God for unity, because somehow it all came together during the actual worship time. Harmonies melded together. Dynamics grew, diminished, and swelled together, and in that moment, the room was indeed filled with His glory.
The night ensued with icebreaker games - both mental and physical, Solarium, a time of prayer, boba, sweets, mafia, and more, and it was great. One thing I have been keeping in mind with respect to growth within the context of both intra and interfellowship growth is simply keeping the Father as the head of the community - that we would not come to idolize community and each other over pursuing the almighty God. I truly believe that the success of the night was a clear indicator that we have all been earnestly seeking this to be true among our respective fellowships. You are Lord of all.
Father, we want to see You glorified. Would we glorify Your name, and would we glorify Your name as one voice, united as one body. Hallelujah, praise the one who brings us together by His blood.
