Hey folks,
I meant to write this awhile ago; this topic was preached about at Crossbridge, my church in Coral Gables, by our pastor Felipe a good amount of weeks ago. Luckily, despite my lack of iPhone notes to remind me, I didn't forget about it.
I think the question "Where am I?" is one that we don't think about that often, probably because we blow it off as something so simple. I'm fairly certain that I am currently at the home of the kids I tutor, in Coral Gables, Florida, at a dining room table swapping sentences with hope on math homework (as I finish this one, for example, I hear "I don't get this"), but I don't think about it that much.
But I don't think we as humans often think of the significance of the places we are currently at. We can look at this specifically or in a broader sense--why do I live in the city that I live in? Why do I reside in the neighborhood that I do? Is it for my job? My schooling? Is it a better socioeconomic area than another nearby city? Does my family live here? Does my family not live here?
Why do you live where you live? I understand that the majority of my absolutely wonderful readers (who also happen to be friends and family, mostly) are most likely currently in college. But I challenge my college-aged peers to question themselves in this: do you feel as though you live in the city of your college, or do you feel like you live within the compounds of your college?
A lot of University of Miami students would admit the latter, sad to say. Not many students here feel as connected to Miami as students from, say, FIU or MDC would. Miami, in itself, is a very transient city. Residents seem to always be on the move--college students are there for four years only to get out and never return; young adults work in the city on the way to bigger and better things. I don't necessarily blame them. Miami's not for everybody--it's a busy, stressful, diverse, and complicated city that struggles to have an identity or a mission. Look on the side bar of the screen at some of the problems we see here everyday.
But why is that an excuse for me to say "well, I'm here for school, so I'll just live in the UM bubble for four years and ditch out"? Why don't I instead say "I'm here for a reason, and God has put me here to make a difference, no matter how long I'll stay"?
I think people tend to ask their city to give them too much. Living in Naples, the common phrase of high school-ers is "Naples is soooooooo boringgg", or something to that effect, posted on a popular social networking site near you. I think that rather than putting into their city, the younger generation of the glorified retirement home of Collier County ask their city to give them too much; instead of going out and being active, making a difference, or taking advantage of the things that Naples offers, such as beaches, that most places don't, they expect something to be given to them.
Same thing with Miami kids. A lot of the time we try to take so much out of Miami--an education, networking opportunities, spiritual growth, life preparation, the beach, the nightlife, the sporting events (the 2012 champion Miami Heat--welcome to the bandwagon, folks). But how many people give back to the community? How much community service do we do? How much ministry and aid to we give to the neighborhoods? How often do we support local business? How much exploring have we done downtown or in the surrounding neighborhoods?
I think it's time to think that God puts us in the city we are in for a reason. Whether He wants us to be there for a short period of time or a long period of time, we need to put time aside and focus instead on how we can make the most of our opportunity to serve. So whether your travelling or planted, please, please give back. And who knows--maybe you'll have a new idea of where you want to live in the future.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." --Matthew 28:19-20
-Ty
*Thanks again for your time reading my blog. You guys seriously mean a lot to me. Please let me know how you feel! Text me, facebook me, comment here, write me a letter, send me a telegram, morse code, patronus, whatever. And sorry for the long time in between posts--I will be better in the future!
