The Year That Was...

Hello, friends!

Looking back on the last bunch of blog posts I've posted in the past few months, there have been 2 things that have jumped out to me. The first is that I haven't posted nearly as much as I would have liked. When I started working for InterVarsity, I said that I wanted to build my ministry on transparency. Since most of my support base was in California and I was in Missouri, I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was happening as much as possible. In that way, I've blown it this semester. My bad.

The other thing that jumped out to me was how few of my posts were actually about what was happening on campus. I've had posts about MPD, a few posts about social justice, and some personal posts, but relatively few about what's been happening in terms of the actual ministry that's been happening here in Columbia. It hasn't been totally lacking but less than in previous semester.

I was hanging out with Jesus and trying to figure out why that was the case. The truth of the matter is that this semester has been one of the hardest in my 8 years of working for InterVarsity. There were a lot of things that definitely didn't go the way I wanted them to go this semester. ACF has had a down year with dwindling numbers and low levels of mission. I've been constantly feeling behind in my supervisory roles. Our funding is down. There has been conflict with students. Generally, it's been a pretty blah semester.

As I was looking back on the semester, the one thing that I heard really clearly from God was this: "Remember my goodness." From there, I started reflecting on all the things that went well this semester. Things like the growth of particular students and some of the completed projects. But I had to stop myself because that didn't feel quite right. God wasn't saying, "hey, remember that I've blessed you too" although that is definitely true. What God was saying was for me to remember his goodness.

No matter what, in the midst of good things and bad, God is good. It is his nature. He can be nothing but good. It is impossible for him to not be good. That is what I need to cling to, no matter what. When things are going well, praise Jesus. When it's been a tough day, week, or semester, praise Jesus. That's what we were made to do and that's what I'm going to try to do.

Everything could change next semester. I really have no idea. What I do know is that if the semester is better or worse than this current one, easier or harder, no matter what, God is good.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam