Letting go of broken seashells to seek the starfish...

Last week at our Wednesday night large group we watched Rob Bell's Nooma video Shells. The planning team had hoped to inspire people to take a closer look at especially the "good things" we say yes to that crowd out our schedules so we can no longer directly pursue the best one thing. In small groups we discussed this best one thing to be that which God has prepared for us or is laying out before us in our lives whether that's a career choice or with whom we decide to spend our lunch hour. Do we let it be about ourselves and satisfy our immediate desires because we don't trust that others or God would provide what we want? or maybe something even better than what we really want?

In the video, Rob Bell describes his son collecting handfuls of broken seashells as they family walks along the beach. Which seems to be a lot of fun until the family comes across a starfish floating on the water nearby. The boy decides that is the one thing he really wants and wades out to try to get it. Multiple times the boy runs back to the shore frustrated without the starfish. The parents encourage him to keep trying afraid that it's the depth of the water concerning him. After several tries, the boy gives up and complains to his parents that he can't grab the starfish because his hands are too full of shells. This left us considering how we may be collecting too many broken seashells. Discussions that night seemed to be going well. Students seemed to be truly mulling over this question and considering and praying over ways to drop the broken seashells in our lives to be have a free had to hold the special starfishes that come along, often unexpectedly.

Tonight, I believe the broken seashells won. I feel as if the my group and I bought the lie that enjoying the broken seashells of following the crowd is better than offering people a starfish by creating a place for students to meet Jesus on a Wednesday night. Tonight in almost the same time and space as our large group meeting, was a multiple a cappella group concert - all the rage tonight. If the concert hadn't overlapped so, I'm sure I would've enjoyed it myself. I was just sorely disappointed in the example we set of the value of our large group meeting. Many just assumed we'd cancel the meeting because of the concert. "We didn't cancel in the snow, so why would we cancel for the concert?" I asked. True we didn't have the turn out we normally do, but we weren't able to really keep the ones that did come. Many I believe had come seeking truth and restoration, and instead we offered them snacks and conversations while listening to the concert in our weekly set up - they left looking just as stressed about work as when they'd entered. Empty chairs in the normal set up just seemed to be a painful reminder that we'd sold out by appeasing their alternate desires.

Now that's not to say that there weren't still great conversations. I was able to have a wonderful extended conversation and prayed with a graduating senior stressed about what he'll be doing next and where God might be leading him. This I do treasure. I'm just sad that there wasn't even effort shown of desire to be apart of what might be happening. We couldn't have been any closer to the concert. All they had to do was walk up the stairs.

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place of enforcing leadership expectations and allowing experience to teach. I say all this not to complain but to describe the situation from which I'm beginning to pray. Please pray that God would be with us, hold us all accountable to his plans, and grant us wisdom and grace as we listen to each other. May it be a time of celebrating the ways God has blessed us this year and opportunity to look forward to all that he is calling us to do in the future.