Two Fridays in August
I have been hesitant to share an update on my life, because it involves a job, and a job (for me) has always involved a mixture of pride and identity and an unhealthy fixation on money, and announcing that on social media just adds a dangerous new spin on all of those things--all wrapped up in the fact that it’s a ministry position and I want to be sure I’m doing it for the right reasons and not just so that I “look cool” or whatever.
That said, I also think it’s a bit disingenuous to not share about what God has been doing in my life and in the lives of others through me. In light of all the things I’ve been learning about grace the last few years, it seems a bit weird not to share what is perhaps the biggest example of grace that I’ve experienced in this whole process.
And it begins with a story.
One Friday morning in August I was sitting at my office desk stuffing envelopes and researching cheap plane tickets in my downtime. I had just come to terms with the idea that I was going to commit to Roanoke for some time, and I was looking for one last hurrah before I settled in to a life that I had never planned for but which I was beginning to get excited about. And somewhere between discovering that Amsterdam was only $270 away and an exotic island in the Caribbean was only $170, I got a text from an unknown number explaining that he was the director of a Christian gap year program and that my name had come up in multiple conversations regarding a position they were trying to fill. Oh, and that students arrived in 7 days, and would I mind driving 6 hours up to Lancaster, PA for an interview on Monday?
(For those of you who don’t know, a gap year has basically been my dream job for some time now. I was a Youth Ministry major in college, but I never wanted to be a typical youth pastor at a church somewhere. My interest was always in experiential education and adventure, in utilizing fun and challenging experiences as a tool for developing depth and growth in students. This calling was further cemented in me during my time abroad as a student; the Australia Studies Centre was perhaps the most significant moment in my faith journey; it was the first time I got to practice adulthood in the real world, learn and talk about my faith in radical new ways, and share it in a community that helped shape and form me into the person I was designed to be. Ever since then, I have longed to be a part of that kind of program, to have that kind of impact in students’ lives, and to help create a space for God to change the entire course of their future.)
Naturally, I did what Joel Davis always does when presented with a new adventure: I said yes.
(Well….first I said no about a thousand times. And then 5 and a half days later, I was loading up my car and moving to a new state for the 5th time in as many years.)
Let me tell you something, the past 2 months have been an incredible journey, a wild ride, and a whole-hearted testament to God’s faithfulness. There are 22 students in the program who are teaching me every day what it means to be a better teacher and mentor, alternately blowing me away with their wisdom and driving me up a wall with their antics. Their growth already is astounding, and I look forward to the work God will continue to do in the next 7 months. My team is supportive, hard-working, and funny as hell, and our partners here on the farm show us the definition of hospitality and grace. It is abundantly clear that this is where I belong, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so….happy. I don’t know if this job is just for a season, or if this is where I’ll spend the rest of my life. (But honestly, I would be fine with either.)
Because the thing about God’s grace is that it doesn’t matter where we are; it matters who we are becoming. (After all: wherever you go, you’ll be there.) And I’m becoming the kind of person that is able to find rest in God in the ups and the downs, on good days and bad, when life is going well and when it isn’t. I’m becoming the kind of person that trusts God and chooses to hope even when there’s no sign of Him. I’m becoming someone who isn’t afraid to be an influencer, who is re-learning what it means to be a healthy leader, and who is willing to share my story to benefit others.
So what type of person are you becoming? Are you saying yes to God, even if it means disrupting your life?
--JD
By the way, the program I work for is called the OneLife Institute, and I am serving at their rural Three Springs Farm location in northern Pennsylvania. OneLife is an alternative college freshman year for recent high-school grads; a 9-month program that offers students the opportunity to explore their faith, their character, and their calling through travel, classwork, service, and hands-on learning. Based out of Lancaster, PA, the program has branched out into 3 locations (with several more on the way), and I’m excited to be a part of a thriving, encouraging community!
For more information on OneLife or Three Springs, check out their websites!
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