Walking Alongside Abraham

Ever since graduating from college at the ripe old age of 21 in 2009, I have time and time again been memorized with the story of Abraham. The first time that I really dove into his journey was the fall of 2009. I was interning with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Sonoma State and feeling a little lost. Not because I didn't find joy in what I did, but rather because it felt like after June of the upcoming year, I had no direction. When I would talk to my student leaders about the school part of their lives, when they would ask me to edit their papers the night before being due, when they would complain about having to go to class or doing a project last minute, I truly envied them. My heart so yearned to be in education, but I think my head just had a hard time figuring that out. The next few months I spend pouring over Abraham. The more I read about him, the more I realized that Abraham was only the start of something big. He was obedient to where the Lord called him, whether it be Haran, Gamorrah, or Egypt. His wife laughed when he told her of the promised son. But he remained faithful. In December of 2009, I attended InterVarsity's student missions conference, Urbana (I will shamelessly put in a plug for them now--if you have the chance, either go or volunteer at a conference. They really are life-changing). Through the mixture of my own reading of Abraham, the conference scripture study of John 1-4, and lots of prayer, I really felt like God was asking me to trust Him and leave Sonoma county. At this point, I had been there for five years. For the majority of the time, my friends were of the same group, and I had attended the same church. My world had been a little on the small side, and God was telling me it was time to head out and grow. Abraham and I got real close at this point--I was going without a destination or a time frame of when I was supposed to leave. We see that in Genesis 12 Abraham goes as the Lord tells him, and it was my desire to do the same. The past two and a half years have been spent in this haze--knowing that one day I will be leaving, not quite sure where to, and hopefully attending graduate school on my way. It is as if I was a ephemeral transient waiting for the wind to blow me somewhere else, but a mysterious tie would not let me move. Last year when all four of my roommates graduated and moved away, I ached to go with them. My feet got itchy to move, to have change. Clearly, it was not time. But, now it is. I have applied and been accepted to the University of Colorado at Denver, for the MA program in Rhetoric and the Teaching of Writing. My dreams of living in Denver and becoming a professor are on their way to becoming true! It all started to line up this past summer--I had two wonderful friends get hitched and move to Littleton, a suburb just outside of Denver. One day as I was sitting alone in my apartment, I was haphazardly researching MA program and this one came up. And really, it was like a dream come true. The next time I talked to my friends, I told them about the program and they told me that if I chose to go, I could live with them. People that I work with have connections with companies in Denver and are going to help me network for a job. My current roommates have someone who is wanting to fill my space in the house. My pastor has a connection with another pastor in Littleton who has offered to help me find a church. On top of all these things, my pastor had just started a sermon series on the Life of Abraham. It seemed like a very appropriate way to end my time in Sonoma County, as if my journey to find a destination, no matter how temporary it may be, has come full circle. The journey has both started and will end with Abraham's example of faith and trust in the Lord. May we all learn to be more like Abraham, but ultimately may he point the direction to Christ.