College

I’m up at college this week and it is fantastic. It is so good to get away for 6 days, to have a change of scenery, to hang out with different people and to be reminded what I’m doing here.

I’m up near Sheffield and it’s amazing to be in the peaks. Yesterday we went up to the edge. The view was gorgeous, it was windy and chilly, but fantastic. There’s so much green and beauty. There were sheep too which was cool! It makes such a change than the concrete greyness of London, the dirty messiness of Ashburton Learning Village and the busyness of life in general. It always brings me back to our creator God; the awesome Father who by his own hands created such amazing beauty…. By this I shall always be stunned.

The people I’m with are fantastic. There are about 15 second years, 18 first years and 3 tutors, plus visiting lecturers. Everyone is unique, we all come from such diverse backgrounds, from all warps of life, each with a wealth of experience. Place us together in college for a week and it is fantastic. We can each teach one another so many different things; new concepts, ways of thinking, sharing ideas. It truly is fantastic. I feel so encouraged and inspired by those around me.

And to get away and be reminded by Father God what he has called me to do. So often I bumble along just trying to make it through each day with various tasks to do, people to see, messages to deal with and problems to solve. I get bogged down in the everyday and forget what I have been called to. I believe I have been called into children’s’ ministry and this week I have been reminded of that so much and I am being equipped with various tools to fulfil my calling.

Cliff College is a safe place… we are like minded, in that we all have a passion to serve God in children’s’ ministry. No-one is going to disrespect me or look down on me for who am I and what I am called to do. It is a safe place to question and not get accused of being heretical! We can try and tackle the difficult questions, we can bat around the tough issues; it is a safe place to do this and this is something I’ve struggled with. Naturally I’m not a questioning person, I’m not sure why. So to enter into debate and discussion and to start questioning has been a tough process for me, but I’m so thankful we have been encouraged to do it and I’m so excited that we’ve been given a safe place to do it in.

I cannot believe how quickly this week has gone. Monday seemed like it lasted for eternity, but now, all of a sudden it’s Thursday and I’ll be heading back home tomorrow. If I’m honest, I’m scared… back to the 36hour+ week at work (averaging about 45), back to being constantly at the end of the phone and email to questions and queries about anything and everything, back to trying to balance work, study and socialising, back to running X-Stream, back to being a good, caring, understanding, listening friend, back to reality. Today we had an introductory lecture to our research projects. They’re due in May 2009. It sounds a long time away now, but I’m sure the time will fly by. I am excited; excited at what God’s got in store, exciting about what I’m going to find out, generally excited. But I’m scared, I’m daunted as well and I don’t want those feelings to get the better of me.