A Reflection

As most of you that are reading this know, last summer I was counselor at Ligonier Camp and Conference Center (a Presbyterian camp that is located near Greensburg, PA) for 10 weeks. It was a summer of great change and discernment concerning my faith. At Ligonier, I was able to live my faith out 24/7, in a deep way that I had never experienced before. I lived in a way that I knew God wanted me to, teaching and being taught by my bosses, fellow staff members, and even my campers. It was life-changing for me.

After that, I had serious doubts that I would ever be able to live that way again, at least outside of Ligonier. There, I was so immersed in faith. It was the culture of the place. Away from it, I have struggled to maintain what I gained there.

However, I realized something tonight. I was on assignment for Presbyterians Today at a local Presbyterian church, shooting pictures to be used in an upcoming issue. The event that I was attending was a concert, starting with a guy from the church playing his own music and then featured a band called The Pinkerton Raid, three siblings from Durham, North Carolina. The lead singer, Jesse DeConto, is a writer for Christian Century, a minister, and an author (he just had an ecumenical book on the Trinity published...yes, I bought it. I'm a nerd). He read excerpts from his book throughout the concert, sharing parts of his own faith journey.

As Jesse spoke and played his music, I had a revelation. I am HERE, in Kentucky, to write and take pictures. I was placed here for a very specific purpose. Maybe I don't totally know what that is just yet, but it's there. God has a plan. He intends to use me in the ways that I am best suited to serve Him. Maybe that will be within an urban ministry (something that I am truly contemplating; McCormick Theological Seminary, I'm looking at you), maybe it's as a journalist/photojournalist, maybe it's as a missionary. All of these thoughts have crossed my mind.

It's okay that I don't know. It's perfectly possible that I'll do all three. God only knows....literally. Until I get cued in on that plan, I'm going to go where the wind takes me. For now, that's here in Louisville as a journalist. Which I am totally okay with.