I read this article on relevantmagazine.com today.
All I can say is, WOW. I think I fit very much into that category. Talk about convicting.
I have this incredible craving for attention, for other people’s approval, for being available to people. Sometimes it’s so intense that I will do insane things to satiate that craving. There have been times that I’ve put my entire life on hold, jeopardizing my job, my finances, etc… just to accommodate someone else’s needs. Not that I think it is a bad thing to be accommodating……….but there certainly needs to be a line drawn.
Unfortunately along with this I’ve also found myself desiring to fix people, circumstances, etc… Â I want so badly to fix people’s problems that I drive myself loony — because I can’t fix them!!
I’ve narrowed it down to one main problem that feeds this part of me: lack of trust in God. I trust God with many, many things. But the one thing I have trouble handing over is taking care of other people. Why? I have no idea! It’s crazy for me to even believe for a second that anything I do or say is fixing people.
In approximately 6 months, almost to the day, I’ll be moving out west for a few years to start grad school. My dad and I are going to drive (2700 miles-ish, 38 hours-ish) over the course of a week and take in some sights along the way.  We plan to drive straight through from PA to Des Moines, IA the first night………mainly since, to be honest, there’s not much to see in those states. Then I am very adamant that we stop at a few places (1) the Badlands in SD, (2) 
Wall Drug in SD, and (3) Yellowstone National Park in WY. Once I’m moved in and settled, my dad will fly home.
I’m excited…scared…anxious…emotional…overwhelmed…impressed…expectant…
This, then, is the Blood:Water Mission, committed to clean blood and clean water to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to build clean wells in Africa, to support medical facilities caring for the sick, to make a lasting impact in the fight against poverty, injustice and oppression in Africa through the linking of needs, talents and continents, of people and resources.
“And it’s never a whisper
It’s always a shout (every change, change, change)”
My dad and I went to see the Bodies Exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center in downtown Pittsburgh today. It was nothing short of amazing. Some things I learned/observed:
- Though up until this point I have never smoked, I vow that I will NEVER even touch a cigarette ever for the rest of my life. The blackened lungs were among the most disturbing pieces in the exhibit. If you smoke now, I suggest going to the exhibit and taking a good look at what you’re doing to your body. I guarantee you will think twice before lighting up another cigarette.
- Cancer is a beast. I mean I guess I’ve always known this. But to see the actual tissues and what not that have been affected by cancer….i had to turn away. It is a nasty, nasty thing.
- The nervous system is amazing. You cannot even imagine how complex it is. They had an entire nervous system dissected and laid out on a table. It was awesome.
- You cannot tell me that a fetus in the first trimester isn’t a human being. Even at 8 weeks you can see the skeletal system forming…little hands, little feet, little ribs…. and I stand firm that if you make the choice to have an abortion, you’ve made the choice to end a human life.
- The main thing I observed was how complex and sophisticated the human body really is. I think that is something we take for granted. And I really can’t understand how someone can walk through that display, see the intricate bundles of blood vessels, or the preciseness of the parts that work together to make us who we are…..and not have some kind of encounter with our Creator. It is amazing. God can take that cancerous tissue and make it new again. God can take those barren wombs and give them life. God can take those black lungs and give them breath.
If you have the opportunity to stop by and see this exhibit, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t cost much, it doesn’t take much time, but it will open your eyes to a lot of things. I know it did so for me. Have any of you seen this exhibit? What are your thoughts?
