On the road again... and love...
I've been thinking a lot about love lately. I know I know when am I NOT thinking about love? But seriously now....
Recently 3 friends flew into Salt Lake here and chilled for their Spring Break. Abigail, Rachel, and Hawk. Abigail came to see
some friends and her boyfriend, Hawk came to chill out with me because he's one of my closest, and Rachel came with
Abigail to just chill and have fun. We all had a blast while they were here and I miss them since they have left. During Hawk's visit he, me, and another friend from SLC named Tyler went down to California to go to Facedown Fest for a day and see one of my best girlfriends, Lauren. A ten hour drive to see a few bands play and chill with lauren for 30 minutes is well worth it. Well worth it.
Anyway so it amazes me when someone comes all of the way out to Utah just to visit somebody that they love... be it Abigail visiting James who she loves as her boyfriend or Hawk coming out here to visit me who he loves as his sister in Christ. It amazes me that driving 10 hours to California and ten hours back just to see some bands we LOVE and so I can see a friend I love is like a no-brainer. Go to CA for a day? duh.
What is it that makes us long for someone's presence in our lives? What part of love makes us feel connected to people even through we live sometimes thousands of miles away? What kind of love can continue to develop in a relationship or just a friendship over that kind of distance over time, space, whatever? What a miracle, eh?
So this past summer at Cornerstone Festival I really started to feel the ache of love for my closest friends. I had, earlier that summer, been on an extended road trip working on a documentary, then went to school where many of my friends were elsewhere taking their summer break, and then went to Cornerstone where I got a chance to see some friends I haven't seen in months, even years. All of this separation and reuniting and meeting people here and there over the course of a short period of time and not being able to develop any really tight relationships like ALL SUMMER LONG really got me thinking. I spoke with a new friend I had made at Cornerstone during this whole whirlwind about it on one of the festival nights. His name is Josh and he has been one of the only ones that I met this past summer that I have still been able to keep up with here and there. (side note: check out his band Sivan.)
Josh and I talked about Paul the Apostle and about how the Lord sent him out as a traveler of sorts... just like the musicians I know who tour 9 months out of the year, or the people I know who make documentaries and narrative films who feel like they never have a home. Paul ministered to the Gentiles and planted churches along the Mediterranean Sea. The thing is, though, that Paul dind't just go hand out pamphlets and start churches in a week or so and then leave, no... Paul would live with the people he was ministering to and love them and befriend them and build the community through the relationships he had. When Josh and I were talking about Paul I realized that I felt like I could relate to Paul in a very big way.
Lets continue with this passage from Acts:
"But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." --Acts 18:6
I am not one of those Christians that has ever been involved in ...well... lets call it "door to door evangalizism". Like usual, I can understand why people do that and I will never bash anybody else's methods of loveing people who aren't Christians because God can work through anyone willing and he DOES.... BUT- as many of you know of me.. that type of teaching is just not my calling. My calling, as the Lord has made it clear to me, is to those hurt by the church or uncertain of their faith and the way He has called me to approach that calling is through relationship, not "door to door". The Lord puts people in my path who I befriend and in the course of our friendship He reveals his reasons to me. This is my evangalism. This is one of the ways in which I am personally called to spread the Gospel.
Paul would fall in LOVE with the people and the culture he was ministering to and then God would call him elsewhere. It's not exactly the same situation with me but I can relate and I know many many many people who travel so much that feel like they can relate even more. I guess this is just God's way of keeping me humble and saying "ok I'm going to use you a little bit here and then take over completley and use other people in this person's life... good work here's the next one." Sometimes that is seriously how I feel and it makes me angry at times because I want to be like "no God let me stay let me help more let me love more". Sometimes those things just don't make any sense until later, sometimes they don't ever make sense at all.
The fruits of the decisions and moves... it's the fruits of the situations that give me peace about where God puts me in life. I see so many good things come of the tasks given me and so many good things come to the people He's allowed me to love. Paul would start his letters with "Beloved," and I know why. He loved them for real just like I love the friends I've made over time that God has put infront of me, good and bad. People who know me well understand these people in my life to be what I call "my personal kingdom of God". I take the words written "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND" probably the most serious of so many things written in the Bible. The Kingdom of God is at hand. This is my Christian friends and my "gentile" friends, the young and the old, the ones here and the ones I've left in Georgia, Michigan, wherever. We are the kingdom of God and my love for them continues on.
The band Beloved has a song in which it is sung: "If we live in hearts we leave behind, then we will never die... we'll never die."
I think this is a way killer way of explaining the kingdom of God. Think about it. If we continue to love eachother through the love God has allowed us and for the people God has put in our paths, our personal Kingdom of God, then we will stay in union with God. Love God's people, love God. *sigh* I miss so many people....
Thank God we will all be together again someday. haha I know that's an intense though but it's true. I know someday we will all be in the same place, at the same time, marveling at our faith, at our Lord, at our love together as one Kingdom. That day will rock fo sho. Until then I'll keep one foot infront of the other and keep my friends in prayer and hopeully a few phone calles here and there... oh yeah and maybe with the help of a few random encounters in road trips and music festivals we'll keep the stitching tight and the bonds strong. Praise God.
Salt Lake Fo Sho.
-Chelsea
Recently 3 friends flew into Salt Lake here and chilled for their Spring Break. Abigail, Rachel, and Hawk. Abigail came to see
some friends and her boyfriend, Hawk came to chill out with me because he's one of my closest, and Rachel came withAbigail to just chill and have fun. We all had a blast while they were here and I miss them since they have left. During Hawk's visit he, me, and another friend from SLC named Tyler went down to California to go to Facedown Fest for a day and see one of my best girlfriends, Lauren. A ten hour drive to see a few bands play and chill with lauren for 30 minutes is well worth it. Well worth it.
Anyway so it amazes me when someone comes all of the way out to Utah just to visit somebody that they love... be it Abigail visiting James who she loves as her boyfriend or Hawk coming out here to visit me who he loves as his sister in Christ. It amazes me that driving 10 hours to California and ten hours back just to see some bands we LOVE and so I can see a friend I love is like a no-brainer. Go to CA for a day? duh.
What is it that makes us long for someone's presence in our lives? What part of love makes us feel connected to people even through we live sometimes thousands of miles away? What kind of love can continue to develop in a relationship or just a friendship over that kind of distance over time, space, whatever? What a miracle, eh?
So this past summer at Cornerstone Festival I really started to feel the ache of love for my closest friends. I had, earlier that summer, been on an extended road trip working on a documentary, then went to school where many of my friends were elsewhere taking their summer break, and then went to Cornerstone where I got a chance to see some friends I haven't seen in months, even years. All of this separation and reuniting and meeting people here and there over the course of a short period of time and not being able to develop any really tight relationships like ALL SUMMER LONG really got me thinking. I spoke with a new friend I had made at Cornerstone during this whole whirlwind about it on one of the festival nights. His name is Josh and he has been one of the only ones that I met this past summer that I have still been able to keep up with here and there. (side note: check out his band Sivan.)
Josh and I talked about Paul the Apostle and about how the Lord sent him out as a traveler of sorts... just like the musicians I know who tour 9 months out of the year, or the people I know who make documentaries and narrative films who feel like they never have a home. Paul ministered to the Gentiles and planted churches along the Mediterranean Sea. The thing is, though, that Paul dind't just go hand out pamphlets and start churches in a week or so and then leave, no... Paul would live with the people he was ministering to and love them and befriend them and build the community through the relationships he had. When Josh and I were talking about Paul I realized that I felt like I could relate to Paul in a very big way.
Lets continue with this passage from Acts:
"But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." --Acts 18:6
I am not one of those Christians that has ever been involved in ...well... lets call it "door to door evangalizism". Like usual, I can understand why people do that and I will never bash anybody else's methods of loveing people who aren't Christians because God can work through anyone willing and he DOES.... BUT- as many of you know of me.. that type of teaching is just not my calling. My calling, as the Lord has made it clear to me, is to those hurt by the church or uncertain of their faith and the way He has called me to approach that calling is through relationship, not "door to door". The Lord puts people in my path who I befriend and in the course of our friendship He reveals his reasons to me. This is my evangalism. This is one of the ways in which I am personally called to spread the Gospel.
Paul would fall in LOVE with the people and the culture he was ministering to and then God would call him elsewhere. It's not exactly the same situation with me but I can relate and I know many many many people who travel so much that feel like they can relate even more. I guess this is just God's way of keeping me humble and saying "ok I'm going to use you a little bit here and then take over completley and use other people in this person's life... good work here's the next one." Sometimes that is seriously how I feel and it makes me angry at times because I want to be like "no God let me stay let me help more let me love more". Sometimes those things just don't make any sense until later, sometimes they don't ever make sense at all.
The fruits of the decisions and moves... it's the fruits of the situations that give me peace about where God puts me in life. I see so many good things come of the tasks given me and so many good things come to the people He's allowed me to love. Paul would start his letters with "Beloved," and I know why. He loved them for real just like I love the friends I've made over time that God has put infront of me, good and bad. People who know me well understand these people in my life to be what I call "my personal kingdom of God". I take the words written "THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND" probably the most serious of so many things written in the Bible. The Kingdom of God is at hand. This is my Christian friends and my "gentile" friends, the young and the old, the ones here and the ones I've left in Georgia, Michigan, wherever. We are the kingdom of God and my love for them continues on.
The band Beloved has a song in which it is sung: "If we live in hearts we leave behind, then we will never die... we'll never die." I think this is a way killer way of explaining the kingdom of God. Think about it. If we continue to love eachother through the love God has allowed us and for the people God has put in our paths, our personal Kingdom of God, then we will stay in union with God. Love God's people, love God. *sigh* I miss so many people....
Thank God we will all be together again someday. haha I know that's an intense though but it's true. I know someday we will all be in the same place, at the same time, marveling at our faith, at our Lord, at our love together as one Kingdom. That day will rock fo sho. Until then I'll keep one foot infront of the other and keep my friends in prayer and hopeully a few phone calles here and there... oh yeah and maybe with the help of a few random encounters in road trips and music festivals we'll keep the stitching tight and the bonds strong. Praise God.
Salt Lake Fo Sho.
-Chelsea
Labels: Acts, Beloved, Cornerstone, love, Paul, Sivan, spring break
posted by Chelsea at
1:19 PM
1 Comments:
mmmm... That cake was killer. I think I ate about a fourth of it.
That hike was killer too. Glad you guys got to go up!
Anyways I'll have to actually read your blog later as I am currently sitting in class but I am sure it is awesome as always! I need to see all the other pictures!
Hope you're doing awesome and you know you are awesome!
Salt Lake Fo Sho!
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