"Spoiled" lettuce

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday a group of friends as well as myself wake up early, super early for collge kids, and go walking before our classes begin.
There are normally about five of us that venture and though the morning person in me is awake and ready to start the day, I can't always say the same for my friends.

For this reason, Friday only me and one other girl found ourselves walking our well-beaten path. While we walked, at a rather brisk, Costa-Rican pace I might add, we found ourselves talking about a certain guy...

...a guy that is very hard for me to love.

He is known for creeping, always having something to say at the most inopportune times and for rambling on for seemingly hours about topics that are irrelevant to everyone but himself.

Most days, I try to humor him by smiling, nodding and attempting to listen intently.
However, as the minutes tick by, it gets harder and harder to comprehend jargon that I'm unfamiliar with or to fakely laugh at jokes that simply aren't funny...

Anyhow, after our walk, life went back to normal and thanks to Rebecca Black, I "got down" on my class-free Friday.
Then, it was time for work. All in all, it was a relatively stress-free night.
Until 9:30 rolled around...

You see, our lobby closes at 9:30, but the drive-thru dosen't close until 10. Normally, this enables smooth-sailing until close, but Friday was an exception.

Drive-thru was busy.

Super busy at that...which was strange-enough in itself...but then, a car especially requested that I make their order.
Creepy, right?

I went to the window to see who had requested my kick-awesome sandwich making skills and it happened to be a Hindu friend of mine and her family, a former Subway co-worker.

So, at 9:47, thirteen mintues before we were officially done for the night, I began on their order of three subs and a pizza with the most cheerful heart that I could muster. I mean, I was glad to see them. They're lovely souls....but selfish me would have been much happier to see them at about 8 o'clock...or maybe even 9:15.

When I finally arrived at the window with their food, my friend looked at me with a distraught-ridden face and said, "Brittney, can you do me a huge favor?"

-You see, apparently in the five minutes that it took me to make their food, her mother, who was also in the car, had found a report describing a recall on shredded lettuce. So, she wanted me to take back their sandwiches and remove the lettuce from them despite the two cars that were patiently waiting behind them.-

I did as they asked and when I returned with their food I was met with a big hug and a heartfelt thank you.

Though my co-workers didn't really understand the madness that had just ensued or how I could handle all of that cheerfully, I can honestly say that it had nothing to do with me. I found God in that pile of "spoiled" shredded lettuce.

Friends, we are CALLED to LOVE one another. Not asked. Not urged. C-A-L-L-E-D. That call isn't just extended to those who are easy to love. It means friends, enemies, ramblers and picky customers alike.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

In my lettuce inspired moment, I realized that this call to love means making every effort. It means truly trying to befriend someone whom you have nothing in common with. It means listening to repetitive banter until your ears fall off and disposing of the lettuce when it's a hassle...all for the purpose of sharing the Gospel of Christ Jesus.

HE IS WORTH IT.

"We help people every day that will eventually be eternal splendors or eternal horrors. No one is mortal; everyone is immortal because we will go one place or the other. We need to reach out and help other people, and to have real love and charity for them without superiority or presumption."-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Do we really treat others as eternal spendors?

Or are they sandwiches with spoiled lettuce, not worth the time and effort that it takes to remake?

My questions are not rhetorical. They are ones that I'm asking you all and that I will continue to ask myself.

Whatever our responses may be, the kingdom of God is at hand.

...Petit Jean State Park

    Some friends and I hiked at Petit Jean State Park today for nearly three hours. It was grueling and painful, but it was so much fun. I took some risks(I'm somewhat afraid of heights) by climbing large rock formations and climbing over fallen trees and pretty much just rocking the "adventure" thing in my Vibram Five-Fingers(which make me feel legitimate).
     As we stood in the huge cut out of rock where the Falls are I found myself contemplating the Flood. The mountain was literally cut into. I was in awe of the power of God and how He flooded the whole Earth and how something so fantastic as what I was standing in was a result. Only something of Him could create such majesty and beauty. It looks utterly impossible, but all things are possible by He who created everything. I stood/sat silent for sometime, praising God.
     I walked over to where the Falls hit the rock below the surface above and saw a miraculous rainbow. "Wow!" I thought. The covenant God made with Abraham after the Flood. Once again I was in awe of Him and everything He does.
     Leaving that mountain I had a brand new heart. This huge God who created everything on Earth, then destroyed it with water, yet left such beauty; He loved me. I'll never understand just how or why God does what He does, but I do understand that our love relationship is more important than anything. His love for me is bigger than the Flood waters.

We Were Made to be Courageous

"We were made to be courageous. We were made to lead the way. We could be the generation to finally break the chains. We were made to be courageous."

Last night, myself along with a few friends went to see the new movie "Courageous". It was AHHHH-mazing. I wasn't ready for the message it was going to bring , though.

"We were warriors on the front lines, standing, unafraid. But now we're watchers on the sidelines while our families slip away. Where are you, men of courage? You were made for so much more. Let the pounding of our hearts cry "We will serve the Lord!""

I can't give away the plot of the movie since the majority still hasn't seen it, but what I can say is that it was absolutley life changing. I grew up in a broken home. I have experienced what it is like to not have a father figure there with me every step of the way to help mold me into the man God wanted me to be. But I also have been there and know the impact that can be made when men of God decide it's time to do something and take you under there wing. I've seen men who said "Enough is enough" and gave up their time and invested their time into me when it wasn't necassarily their responsibility.

Upon watching the movie, I will admit that there wasn't a relaxing moment (partially due to the emotional rollercoaster I was on). There were moments when I laughed and the very next scene would have me in tears. The end was just that. But through the tears, God was revealing in me something that I needed to strive for and a commitment that I needed to make.

"This is our resolution our answer to the call. We will love our wives and children and we refuse to let them fall! We will reignite the passion that we buried deep inside. May the watchers become warriors let the men of god arise"

To many times do we become lax in our Christianity, and at the same time...to many times fathers become lax in their responsiblity as a daddy and mentor. I will not be that person. From this point on, I have made a covenant with God to be the man, and someday husband/father, that He wants me to be. I refuse to sit on the sidelines and watch as family slips away. If my generation can grasp this mere fact and vision, we could be the generation to make a legit change. We need to be the generation of men, and women alike, to stand up and say, "Enough is enough" and fight for our families and the morals that Christ shares thru Scripture. I refuse to be the status quo when God and our families deserve so much more. Who will stand with me?

"In the war of the mind I will make my stand. In the battle of the heart and the battle of the hands. We were made to be courageous and we're taking back the fight. We were made to be courageous and it starts with us tonight. The only way we'll ever stand is on our knees with lifted hands. Make us courageous! Lord, make us courageous."