However, last night I got a change to really sit back and relax- Courtney came over and we watched TV. Usually I'm not a big television person, but Courts got me hooked on a couple shows, and when things are always go go go, sometimes its nice to stop and eat some popcorn while watching spy episodes with my lovely friend.
If any of you have seen the show Chuck, you will appreciate this post. However, so you are warned, I will stop speaking to you if you tell me the ending. I am only halfway through season 3. So don't ruin it for me.
Anyways, last night that's what we were watching. For those of you who haven't seen Chuck, he's this computer nerd who gets accidently gets every government secret locked in his brain. He's super adorable and if he was a real person every girl would be fighting over him. But that's irrelevant. Because the part that stuck with me from last nights episode wasn't about Chuck at all. It was about his sister.
Ellie, Chuck's sister, is married to this man named Deven. Both are doctors, and they're a young, attractive couple. Because I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen the show, I'll keep it vague. Deven feels an urgency to travel the world and join the Doctors Without Borders organization. Ellie on the other hand, finally gets a job opportunity to help out with this organization in LA, one that she's been dreaming of being a part of since she was a kid. A good chunk of the episode shows the turmoil they undergo because both Ellie and Deven has this awesome dream to do two awesome, but different, things.
Eventually, being the heart throb husband that he is, Deven tells Ellie to take the job in LA, and that he will stay with her. This is the part that got me. Deven looks Ellie in the eyes and says, "It doesn't matter where we go, Honey. As long as I'm with you."
Oh my gosh. If he wasn't married, and was real, and was a Christian, and needed a wife, I would totally pull a Katniss Everdeen.
Because that's so sweet. And isn't that how it is when you're in love? (I think. At least from what I've observed...) You see two people who are crazy about each other and they don't care where they go for a date- as long as they've got the person they love with them. I had a friend tell me recently that she actually liked dating guys who had different interests than her, because then she could tell when they were doing those things just to bless her.
But this scene didn't stick in my head because of the cuteness. In fact, the Holy Spirit must have been just waiting to use it, because we paused the show instantly. While usually these senses make me feel lonely and awkward, instead my brain shot to the most intimate relationship in my life- the one with God.
Because I think that's how it is with Him. It doesn't matter where we go, as long as we're with Him. Being at the college age where people are constantly asking, "So what are your plans?" you find yourself freaking out a little bit. What are my plans? Am I supposed to get married? Pursue a life long career? Travel the world? Become a Baptist nun?
These questions become so frustrating. They lead us to a point where we think every situation is do or die. It kind of puts a lot of pressure on everything. But really, does it matter where we are? As long as we're with the One we love?
Now I'm not saying people who feel God put a specific thing on their heart shouldn't follow it. I don't think God really appreciated Jonah saying no to Him. He wasn't allowed to pull the, "Hmm..Ninevah. Nah, I can be with God away from that place! As long as I'm with Him!" Nope. When God puts a place on your heart, it's best to listen.
But for those of us who haven't heard anything like that yet- why are we worrying? Enjoy the freedom. One thing I have been learning is that Christians are needed everywhere. They are needed in Christian environments to encourage and build up other Christians. They are needed in secular places to reach the lost. They are needed in Africa. They are needed in America. They are needed in churches, schools, bands, basket weaving contests, accounting jobs, construction work, and balloon animal making. It's not what you do, it's Who you do it for.
1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
It doesn't says, IF you are doing mission work in a foreign country. It doesn't say, IF you have a college degree. IF you're married. It says whatever. All bases are covered here. The point isn't to find the right place, the point it to find the right purpose. (Spoiler Alert- it's God. The right purpose is to grow God's Kingdom.)
So, I think spending time with God is the main thing here. It's all about relationship. I want to be able to tell God at the end of the day the same thing Deven told Ellie. "It's doesn't really matter where we go. As long as I'm with you."
A. Diez.
