At the present moment in time I am STUCK!!!
Yes, you read right. I've pulled a muscle in my neck from sneezing too much.
Haha. I’m pathetically helpless. Like a dog that’s just run into a glass window
pane and is now laid out in shock on the floor, looking in every direction for
an answer to why he’s still in the
house and not in the garden. I would use the opportunity to be waited on hand
and foot, but everyone has decided that work is more important. I’ll give
credit to my mom, she’s gone to church.
This time will be used wisely in sharing with you, the exciting events that happened Thursday just gone.
I awoke to find my alarm had not gone off
and the morning devotion that I intended to have would have to be postponed. I leaped out of bed and got washed, dressed and
hair straightened in FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! The train was due at 6.58am and I was
running round the house like a nervous pixy!!!
After deciphering who would take me to the
train station, my dad rushed towards the door, with keys in hand. I tried to
convince my mom that one extra bible in my bag wouldn't make much difference.
(I’m quite fond of packing the kitchen sink) seeing her distress I removed my “cover
to cover” from my bag, and then scooped it back in when my mom wasn't looking. Hehe
Not only did I get to the train station
early, I got there in time to realise I needed a pee!! When I came out the
toilet the realisation that I was going to have a pretty life changing day sunk
in. My dad tried to put me on an earlier train and I was adamant that I had to
get a train direct to Manchester. A lady appeared, out of thin air, and said I
needed the train that would come bang on 6.58. I thanked her, but my dad
carried on talking to her. (as parents tend to do) But as I looked up at the
two tall grownups deep in discussion, I realised how much my dad is actually
good at just talking to people. Now my dad’s not born again but admits to being
a Christian. Recently I’ve seen him progress and ask questions comfortably as
to what I would do in a situation. To which I gave advice from the bible!! He took the advice!! That morning I felt proud, I could
see a great man in front of me and an even greater man to come!!
Entering Manchester, I Got off the train to
find my next train had de-railed and I would have to get a tram to a different
train station. Panic set in, as I rushed towards some signs that would show me the
way to the trams. I had to stop to calm down and affirm that I could get
there!! Reaching the tram stop I was halted, I could do nothing else but sit
and wait for a tram to Manchester Victoria train station. Looking around I could
see people laughing and joking, relaxed in their daily comings and goings, yet
here was I, a worried mess!!
Scuttling on the tram, I quickly found a
seat for a temporary rest. A woman on the phone rolled around the carriage and
a man next to me spoke to himself quite neurotically. I began to feel like I
was the sane one. I asked a close by man
if he knew when to get off for the Victoria stop and he “God-incidentally” was
getting the same train to Preston as me. I don’t believe in coincidences. I
followed him, without even taking into consideration that he was a total
stranger. If you have ever seen ‘Harry Potter’ when he’s following Hagrid, at
the beginning of ‘The Philosophers Stone’, he’s putting full faith in
him to get to the train, which includes jumping through a wall!! Well it was
a lot like that! I got to the train and the man disappeared to a different
seet. I did see him get off the train so I don’t think he was a ghost or
anything. But God can send us Angels!! J
I eventually got to my interview for Pais
GB, about an hour and a half later than intended. But I got there!! The Interview
was pretty straight forward firstly building an amazing Lego tower with two
other applicants. (This was to see how we worked in a team) Then later had a
direct answering questions session with two of the Pais employees. It was so
exciting to meet my potential leaders and just to see the passion they
themselves have for the project.
Now you’re asking, what’s Pais? Well Pais
translates as someone who has taken the form of a servant. “The Pais Project is a bridge between schools and churches. With offices on four continents it trains, equips, mentors
and resources Youth Pastors plus offers a FREE Apprenticeship* in Youth &
Schools Ministry. Pais places full-time teams in churches for a year at a time.
Apprentices then work in both the schools and churches, equipping students to
change their school and community.” –www.paisproject.com
Leaving the interview, I reflected on the
year gone by and the year to come. I decided that I wanted an adventure as
crazy as the one I had endured that day. A scripture I looked at was Psalm 1:1-3,
which says; "1 Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in
the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prospers."
From this I got a very vivid picture in my
head of a tree that is very stable, alongside a glistening river, which is God. The roots of
the tree reach deep into the ground but are directly connected to the river. The
tree doesn't lose its leaves even in bitter winter seasons, when all else seems
hopeless it stays with the river. Then it says ‘whatever they do they prosper’
and I know that If I stick close to God and God's word, whatever happens in the next
year or for the rest of my life, I know I will prosper.
Another verse that just came into my mind
is Joshua 1:7:
“Be
strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law
my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful
wherever you go.”
