It's time to be strong and courageous.

I am not the kind of person you mistakenly label as a 'social butterfly.'  I tend to be quiet.  I usually prefer to process my thoughts inside my brain and be careful about the words I say before they come out of my mouth.  My energy tends to drain easily just by being around a bunch of people I don't know.  It's draining because meeting new people typically requires you to start with small talk, but I don't really care as much about the weather or what you studied or did for work today as I care about wanting to go deeper and learning your hopes, dreams, struggles, and opinions (which doesn't usually happen when you first meet someone).    

So when it comes to New Student Outreach events, where, as a staff worker, I'm trying to model for and mobilize my college students to reach out and talk to other college students who are new to campus and new to our group, you can imagine how difficult it may be for me.  A room full of strangers infested with small talk and the innate social demand for me to process my thoughts quickly so as to avoid awkward silences?  Not an ideal environment for me to thrive in.

But just as God and Moses and the Israelites call Joshua to be strong and courageous over and over and over again, God calls us to be strong and courageous to lead God's people into the kingdom of God.  God's mission is bigger than I or my discomfort could ever be.  

While I could have sat on the sidelines and leave all the mingling up to my students, I've pushed through my fears and discomfort and introduced myself to new people.  I've learned not to wait for the ideal opportunity - I need to ask for strength and courage from the Lord to take every opportunity I get and try to turn each one into the ideal.  I know that if I don't put myself out there to meet new people, then I am either denying myself the opportunity to partner with God in what He is doing in other people, and/or I'm denying other people the opportunity to hear about who Jesus is and why InterVarsity exists on campus.

So as the start of the year has been officially kicked off, I'm sure in addition to meeting new people, other fears and discomforts will surface when it comes to engaging in God's mission on campus or in my neighborhood.  But when it comes time to make a decision about how I will respond, the question I'm going to have to ask myself again and again will be:  am I going to let my fear and discomfort dictate my behavior, or will my faith in God's love and mission define the decisions on how I live my life?  

Filling up empty wells.

I hadn't realized I stored up quite a bit of anxiety about my RIT students during the summer - until about a week before their classes began.  I felt like things were not getting done, communication between me and the executive student leaders was like pulling teeth, and it was tempting for me to micromanage them.  It was like an empty well during a drought when you realize how thirsty you've become.

When I finally saw my students face to face, it was like the empty well was filling up again and the rain clouds were rolling in.  It was wonderful to see their smiling faces in person and not on a computer screen, and discuss things thoroughly without sound glitches or background distractions.

At my first RIT New Student Outreach (NSO) event, it was invigorating to see InterVarsity students in action.  It made me realize how much I just want and need to spend time with my students.  I don't just get to know them by talking to them, but by observing them - seeing how they interact with others, how they carry themselves, how they work under pressure.  What they do and how they do it allows me to learn just as much about them as what they tell me and how they say it.  It's totally one thing for someone else to tell you how much leadership potential a student has - it a whole other thing when you see it for yourself.