I start off tonight's post with that little tidbit, because right now, I have a really big desire to just yell DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I never claimed to be normal.
Anyway. Tonight was insane. In the totally awesome, only-God-could-pull-that-off kind of way. And considering I leave for Nashville tomorrow, I'd say the timing of this happening tonight was definitely not a coincidence.
This afternoon, I got my EEG results (not epilepsy, seizures are stress-induced, not good or bad, just an answer, all for now), and so I sent out the update to everyone I knew would want to know. Hannah and I texted for a bit once she got the message (oh Hannah. that girl. I swear, I can't believe I only met her a week ago tonight. We both said it feels like we've known each other forever.), and right at the end of the conversation, she asked me what I did on Wednesday nights. I knew she plays in the Ignite (CU's student-led weekly worship service) band, so I knew her point was to invite me to that, and once I responded that tonight I had to pack, she told me that tonight was the last Ignite of the semester but that I should definitely check it out next semester.
I told her I would, especially since I know her now, but honestly, as soon as I sent the text that I had to pack, I started to get this feeling that I needed to go tonight, and that feeling only grew stronger with every passing second. So a few messages later, I told her I changed my mind and that I would come tonight.
Heh. Lesson numero uno, girls and boys: sometimes those "feelings" you get aren't really just feelings. They're God setting up a crazy surprise.
Tonight, this was all God.
Because it was the last Ignite of the semester, it was all a worship service, it didn't have a speaker or anything like they often do. So I got to spend an hour singing my heart out praising God with my fellow students. And get this: several of the songs were songs I heard for the first time at Sanctuary.
Partway through, the band took a break for a bit, and they had these stations set up across the stage. On the right side was communion, something I haven't got to participate in in ages. On the left side were these stones, markers, and a bowl of water, and you could write issues or sins on the rocks or just scribble all over it as a symbol, and then you dropped it in the bowl of water and watched it disappear. And in the middle was this wooden cross with Sharpies and post-it notes, and you wrote something you were struggling with and needed to let go of and lay down at Jesus' feet on the post-it and then stuck it to the cross. All three very simple things, but y'all. God was so evident in that room tonight that you could absolutely feel Him as those who chose to do so participated in those activities. I certainly felt His presence. I sat on the stairs of the stage for a bit talking to God, and then Hannah prayed with me, and I felt what I asked her to pray for, something I've been struggling with lately, seem so small in comparison to my big God when I finally got back to my seat.
The band played a couple more songs, and then they opened the floor for "testimony time". Anyone who wanted to could come share their testimony with everyone that was there. You can just imagine how long it took me to get out of my seat. ;) I felt a little awkward, especially considering this was my first night there, and I couldn't really word what I wanted to say very well, but I just went with it, because I couldn't stop thinking about the promise I made to God last year after I found Theater Church, that any opportunity He put in front of me to share my story with people I wouldn't pass up. But even cooler than that was the fact that the couple girls who spoke after me both talked about things that I could really relate to. It was like another nudge from God.
At the end, a few girls came up and told me how touched and affected they were by what I had shared with the group. I got so caught up in talking to them that I didn't get back to my room until 10:30! One of them actually apologized for something that happened three years ago; apparently I accidentally rolled over her foot one day with my power chair, and she apologized for spending a lot of time the rest of the day being upset and saying some not nice things to her friend about it/me. I don't remember the incident, so I certainly don't think she ever yelled at me or anything, so basically this girl apologized for something I didn't even know about and would never have known about had she not mentioned it. By the time the night was over and I talked to more of the people there, I realized that that is just the kind of crowd I'd walked into. One of the girls even gave me a ride back and we spent a while sitting in her car in Burkot's parking lot talking more about my life and God and what He can do. It was so nuts, but so awesome.
I texted Hannah when I finally got back tonight that I finally knew why I got that feeling that I needed to come tonight. Sort of like Hannah (and Peyton and Emily and Travis), this gift just sort of dropped into my life, and now I'm giddy and feel like I made a whole new set of friends. I definitely know where I'll be spending my Wednesday nights next semester. :)
There are two other reasons that I'm thankful for the body of Christ tonight. One, I got to go back to Small Group for the first time in I think a month, and it was just so sweet to have that time together, even though the only other two people there besides Pastor Sean were people I didn't know. There's just something about studying the Bible and learning about God together that bonds people. Two, several of my friends were, for various reasons, either upset or pretty much freaking out today. So for a change, I got to be the cool, calm, and collected one, ha! But really, I was able to be there for them and pray for them and make them smile when they were in a not-so-good spot. It was a reminder that one of my big concerns in life probably shouldn't be a concern - today was evidence that I am just as there for my friends as they are for me. I love them as much as they love me, and they know it.
It's past 12:30 am and my alarm is going off at 5:30 and I still have to pack for Nashville and I'm not even tired or stressed because I'm still so hyped up about all the ways that God showed up for me today and especially tonight. I'll sleep on the planes. Or when I'm dead. :p
God is awesome. The end.
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