There IS more to the world....

Wow. It’s really good to get a different perspective on the world we live in. There is so much more than the little bubble we happen to be placed in, or even the bubble I am living in here in Germany. Last weekend I had the cool experience of being in three different countries in one day (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland). It was so interesting to just experience the different feelings of various countries. The cold emptiness, boarded up buildings, and barren streets of the Czech Republic to the laid back feeling of Poland. It was a really cool time. It opens your eyes so much to how other people live, and makes you realize that their current lifestyles are, many times, all they know.

In the Czech Republic people live in the middle of deserted towns with barely any businesses or anything around. An entire town seems completely dead, with no life and barely any people….remnants of its communist past. While there are thriving cities and beautiful places in Eastern Europe, this is sadly the norm. The feeling of the small city we stopped at seemed so dull, with no purpose or passion for anything. I never believed that cities necessarily could have a “dark” feeling, but there was a tangible difference in the presence of this city, and only 10 minutes across the border. This feeling of depression and emptiness made us feel the urge to stop at a park in the middle of the city and simply pray over it. That God would somehow come there and show the people that He loves them. That there IS a reason for living. In fact, the Czech Republic actually has the highest rate of atheists in the world. Not only people that don’t believe in God, but as in people that have no religion….no reason for life…nothing to hold on to. It was so real!

As for everyday life….it’s so easy to get lost in the grind and the busy schedule here and go through the motions. Its also SO hard to take in everything we are learning and somehow be able to apply what I can to everyday life. I know I’ve said it before but it is like I am relearning my perspective on life and Christianity. Everything I knew is being changed and my eyes are being opened to so much. Sometimes it is really hard, but it is always good. No matter how hard it gets, it is much better than the empty nothingness of the past 2 years of my life, when I basically turned from God and everything I knew was right. Sure, I went to church and said the right things. But a relationship with God was a complete afterthought. I had given up on God and everything He meant to me. It is really scary to think of now, but I was very, very content with living the “Sunday Christian” life the rest of my life….I had no desire to change or get to know God better. I just didn’t care anymore. Here’s the unbelievable part. After all the stupid things I did and all the ways I hurt God….He offered me life, He wanted me. And I rejected it. I slapped Him in the face by turning from Him and for 2 years ran from Him. Then, instead of sitting there waiting for me to come back, wondering what I was doing, HE RAN AFTER ME! He chased me down until I had no choice but to turn back to Him. He desired a relationship with me more than my failures, my mistakes, and my bad choices. The love of God is so unfathomable! So much bigger than anything in our lives, than our lives themselves, than the entire human race!