'Tis the season. The season for turkeys, good food, family tradition, friends, loved ones around the table. Tis the season for giving thanks and eating good food. If you're anywhere near Ohio State you know that it's also the season for beating that state up north. Rallying together for the cause. The culture here really is amazing. It's amazing how so many people, a stadium of over 100,00 plus thousands in their homes and in the bars, can rally around one team for one game.
I get it. I see where the people are coming from. I don't even really like football and I get all swept into it. It's easy to follow the current and join the club: tailgating, jumping in mirror lake, cheering on the team. It's fun. It's exciting. We feel a part of something. We win. A lot. It's the experience. This is what college is all about. Right? But here's the thing. There's more. The things they don't tell you about. The things that make your heart stop when you're walking home on a game night. The people you don't want to think about. The situations you want to ignore because it makes you feel uncomfortable: The young person who goes into cardiac arrest because it's "the thing" to jump into freezing cold, dirty water surrounded by thousands of intoxicated people in the middle of the night. He doesn't wake up. The big guy who gets so drunk he runs into a tree and cracks his head open and can't even remember how to get back home. The beautiful girl on the sidewalk in the freezing cold puking her guts out, crying and cursing and wearing next to nothing while her friends stand by looking confused. The people who wander into your house because they are just looking for a good time. The thousands of people who care so much about the game. There's more than one way to die. I'm currently sitting in my parents' home, smelling the turkey in the oven, preparing to gather with my family and share in our Thanksgiving meal. It might be easy to forget about these things. To forget where I just came from and what I've witnessed. But I won't. I'm not trying to be a downer this holiday season, but I WILL NOT sit in ignorance of the reality of my peers. They may cover it up well, and I pray to God that they are safe at home with their families, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation. The darkness is real and it is vast. But there is hope. It's the stars you see in the midst of the black sky. The little pin pricks of light that make it something. I might be little. SPO might be little in the midst of the culture. Our little families might seem like nothing. The conversation with a student on a Friday morning might seem like nothing. But it's the little things that shine the brightest. It's the student who goes to confession for the first time in 13 years, the one who decides not to go out on a Thursday because she was invited to a women's night. Just because it's little doesn't mean it's not important. It is SO important. I went to bed Tuesday night really discouraged and overwhelmed with all of the stupid crap that envelopes and seeps in to this campus, this city, this freaking world. It seems impossible to transform a culture, but we have to try. Each of us. All of us. It's the little things that add up. Plus, the King of the Universe is on our side. It's He who asks us to do this in the first place. So, for the Kingdom! The battle belongs to the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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This is a simple post, but I hope a powerful one. You know what they say: "a picture is worth a thousand words". I couldn't describe how important and what a gift our households are in a thousand words, so I'm going to show you in pictures!
Before I send you off to look however, I will explain a little. Household is something we do in SPO. It's where missionaries live with students. It's where we are molded, sharpened, encouraged, called out...daily. Household is where we teach and learn the art of living. As a missionary, It's where I most get to live my life as a credible witness to God's love. Kind of like in a family, and let me tell you- it is challenging! But it's worth it. This year at Ohio State we have 48 people living in our Households. That's 48 individuals growing in virtue and a life of holiness on a daily basis: praying together at 6:30am, eating meals together, cleaning and cooking with excellence! and everything in between. Please pray for our Households and those of us living together- God has a plan for each one of us! |
This Blog...I'm Emily: a mission leader with Saint Paul's Outreach. This is blog is here to keep you up to date with what is happening in the mission field at Ohio State! Archives
October 2016
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