"Come down from the mountain, you have been gone too long"

I am done school.

I am DONE!

This doesn't seem possible to me. If I don't want to, I never have to write another academic essay or sit through another exam ever again. This is awesome, and terrifying. Aside from my graduation, I don't foresee ever being back at my campus ever again. It's sad... but at the same time I'm so happy, I could hug a bear, or something.

So I just finished reading a novel (because I can read for leisure now, you know) called "God in the Alley" by Greg Paul. The author is involved with Sanctuary church in downtown Toronto, which is a church that ministers to those who are "down and out"... the homeless, the addicted, the prostitutes -- those who are largely either ignored or abused by society as a whole. Anyway, the book was about "being" Jesus and seeing Him in every circumstance... even ugly ones. There were many stories of Paul's friends in church and their deep, deep pain and struggles, and discussion on how God is there, in it, with you. The stories were heartbreaking and I was extremely interested in them, but the most impactful part of the whole book came at the very end. In the final chapter, Paul talks about how it's natural to think "oh, I am imitating Christ when I am perfect, pure and strong". But the paradox lies in the fact that it's not then when we display Jesus best, or when we rely on Him most. Paul writes:

"Of course, the biblical writers encourage me to be strong (in the Lord, and in the strength of his might, according to Paul), exhort me to be pure, and call me to faithfulness. These are the behavioral goals to which I ought rightly to aspire. However, these stories of my friends reveal a peculiar paradox: I am more likely to have Jesus revealed to me and through me in weakness than in strength, sinfulness than in purity, or doubt than in perfect faithfulness. If I can sum up all these 'failures of the spirit' ... with the single term brokenness, then I come to this astonishing conclusion: Jesus is found in brokenness."

Jesus is found in brokenness. I guess I am ready to find Him -- again.

Oh, here is Sanctuary's website: http://sanctuarytoronto.ca/programs/church.php. They do great things (and I've even been there. For realz.)

Hearty heart heart,

Tiffany

(also... enjoy this song. It's called "Ragged Wood" by Fleet Foxes... and you should develop your appreciation for this band. They are the coolest.)