A bit of nostalgia

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic tonight. Samantha and I watched one of those cheesy-but-sweet TV movies about a teacher who sets the bar high, overcomes the odds, and gets their kids to learn. It even had the dorky guy from "Friends" (I can never remember their names).

For whatever reason, the movie made me miss CCF days. We would run around like crazy, ignoring schoolwork for the sake of relationships. We had jobs, and friendships, and roles to play. We screwed up a lot. We tried to teach and learn. When one person cried, we tried to be there to cry with them. When one person celebrated, they were cheered for. When one person made a fool of themselves by singing Disney songs in the middle of the cafeteria... well, you get the idea.

I really miss that stuff. I miss feeling like I can be there when someone I love is hurting. I miss being able to solve problems. UBC is great, but people still tend to keep to themselves.

In CCF, we could pile 16 people into a dorm room to watch a movie on a 12 inch screen. We went to campus events together (in fact, it was basically impossible to do things without being in a group). We drove each other nuts, and fought like cats and dogs... or siblings, even!

I hope that wherever I go, I remember that time and try to recreate it. Not the SAME way, mind you... nothing can ever be quite the same. But it's important to me to understand HOW we came to love each other so much, and to try to show the people I come into contact with what a joy that type of life can be.

I also hope I never lose touch with the people whom I loved and was loved by. CCF changed me, and that goes deep. I hope, too, that the passion I felt for CCF will also be a passion for Christ's Body, the Church.

I'm afraid that I'm a woefully inadequate shepherd. I try, but as time goes on I see more and more clearly what an amazing failure I am in so many areas. But maybe, if I keep promoting the Kingdom of God as clearly as possible, He will continue to give me communities that forgive my hard-charging ways, that forgive my impatience and procrastination and lack of sympathy, and that forgive my weakness.

My prayer for you and I is that we will learn to care for each other with the desperate love that comes from knowing your own weakness, and being accepted anyways. May God bless our searching hearts.