This Life: An OYAN Workshop Post

Last week, at the OYAN summer workshop, I got a 'Taste of Heaven' as one of my friends put it (Tiny Taste of Heaven). A God-centered, accepting community where I was taught and encouraged. Talking to others, and reading various posts of thoughts on it, the general consensus of those who attended seems to be that God's presences was strongly felt, along with a solid connection to other young, Christian writers. Now that we're back to the trials and somewhat dullness of day-to-day life, most of our reactions is to mourn.

I agree completely with the sentiment, but in the car today I heard a song I know--called This Life by Mercy Me--that reminded me of a different way of looking at things. We're commissioned to shine for Jesus in this world. The Holy Spirit equips us to do this. Also, our brothers and sisters in Christ should build us up, partner with us, and keep us accountable to God's word.

At the workshop, I think many of us got a strong taste of the beauty of a God-centered community and a pale idea of what eternity holds. It leaves us longing for more. But we have a job to do. As the song puts it:

"I don't have to stall 

I don't have to wait 

Don't have to bide my time 

Till I make my escape 

Cuz heaven's in my heart 

I won't settle for less 

I will lift Your name 

By the life I live 

Every moment is a chance to 

Let Your light break through"

 Let the experiences, the friendships and God's presence from last week encourage and empower you to jump headfirst into your everyday life and shine. This isn't easy. And Satan will do everything he can to stop you from doing that. Because a whole-hearted and passionate follower of Christ is a powerful thing.

So, take heart, stand strong and stand together, even if we're apart. We can change the world for our Lord, but we'll do so much more when we're spread across it, then congregated together. One day after the Lord's coming, we'll have a perpetual workshop where we can lavish in each other's company without any detraction. It will be thousands of times better than last week, or the previous workshop. But you have a piece of heaven in your heart now, let it fill you up and spill out into our world.

By God's grace,
Ericka

Broken Heart

Friday night, while exhausted and preparing to say farewell to so many friends after an amazing week, I came upon a cluster of OYANers in an oblong shape, sitting on the ground with heads bowed in prayer. Some of the people I needed to talk to were participating, so I stood there for a few minutes, watching and waiting. Somewhere in those moments, something inside of me began to ache. I sat down, unable to figure myself out while focusing on standing upright. It kept getting worse. A pain in my heart kept growing and as I rested on a small rock with my head bowed and eyes closed, I asked God ‘Why, why? What’s going on?’ Somehow I knew that the heartbreak crashing over me was from Him, I just had no clue whom it was for. I kept praying and crying, ignoring those around me in an attempt to understand what the Holy Spirit was trying to communicate to me.

One of my friends sat down next to me, and as I scooted closer to cry on her shoulder, things didn’t get better. But she let me cry, asking no questions, just offering companionship and support. When I finally recovered a bit, I couldn’t explain why I had broken down. Not that I was pushing her away, I simply still didn’t know what was going on.

At that point, being even more exhausted and emotional than I’d started with, I discovered that a friend of mine who I’d been praying for had just been saved. Halleluiah! My first thought after pure joy was to wonder if he’d been who I was intensely praying and hurting for... But the pain was still there, and it didn’t seem to quite fit, so I thanked God for the blessing and praised Him for his glory.

It was about then that an inkling of an idea flickered through my head. The answer surprised me, and I questioned whether it was really right. But as time passed, the notion only got stronger.

The level of comfort I’d reached so quickly while at the OYAN workshop, the lack of my self-consciousness that is usually so present, and the group of people who were pouring their hearts out to God, together... He was telling me something. Peeling back a hardened layer that covered my heart like a turtle shell. Showing me what trust really looks like and how safe I am in his arms—something I’ve been praying about for awhile.

This vision of His love has left my heart a little raw, but I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. As I head back to normal life, I pray my heart stays a little more broken and my friends a little closer. But most importantly, that I rest in trust in my Father’s love in a deeper sense than ever before. 

Ever learning,
Ericka

A Word to You Gentleman

You take some flack, teasing and resistance. You take the time to restrain yourselves and think before you speak.You consider others' feelings and go out of the way to show courtesy and respect.

Thank you.

I have been guilty of giving you a hard time. Maybe even taking a slight advantage... I'm sorry, it's wrong. As a sister in Christ I should be building you up instead of making things more difficult. I appreciate your efforts to be men of God in our distorted world. To stay pure and honorable. To show woman respect and save yourselves for the future.

Keep it up, brothers. I have so much respect for you. Your actions have more impact upon us girls than you will ever know. You really stand out from the crow.

Stay true, persevere.

Thank you.

God bless,
Ericka

Shock

I just found out! I'm a published author!

Since...April 7th.

Wow. How'd that happen you wonder? Well, it's rather strange. On a whim--every now and then I get them...I think they're a God-thing; when I listen to them, crazy, but good, things happen--I submitted one of my poems to a young Christian writer's magazine that some of my friends started and I subscribe to. Though I mostly fail at reading it... I just save it to my computer. Fail...

Anyways, so I sent it to them, and told my friend that if it was published, I wanted to know. Mostly so I would actually be aware of the fact since I'm so far behind in reading them...

Today, I was asked to sign a couple of copies of the magazine issue with my poem in it. I went: WHAT?! I didn't know it was in there!  Yeah... I'm still kind of in shock.


Anyways, despite the mix up--you know who you are---I will recommend Kingdom Pen (kingdompen.org) as a great read for anyone who wants to write. It's free and put together by author's my age (and I'm published in it).

Now, I leave to try and make sense of this newness.

~Ericka