Hidden Gems

     I must say, WOW! It has definitely been an interesting and exciting few weeks. If you didn't know, I recently moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to pursue my passion for college ministry. We have recently had orientation and now we are gearing up for start-up week. If you are a part of the college ministry community, then you know that start-up week is the craziest, most exciting, and quite often most fruitful week of the ministry for meeting new students. I am so anxious and excited to begin! I want God to do unbelievable things this year for Tulane (that is the campus I am on!).

     But before I can go all crazy on campus and start being BFFs with everyone in sight, I have to learn about Tulane. Get to know what is special about the school and how Chi Alpha functions on their campus. For four years, I have been learning about ministry from a totally different lens. First of all, Tulane is private and in a major city. While Louisiana Tech (where I graduated) is in a rural college town and is public. I did not understand the vast differences in how ministry would work until walking around Tulane's campus, talking with students, and asking my campus pastor tons of questions!

      When coming from Northern Louisiana, you are used to seeing land and lots of land. Tech was wide and spacious. It has huge beautiful trees and beautiful landscape. In the fall, it is gorgeous with all the different color leaves and in the spring the tulips are to die for. That was my current idea of a beautiful campus. At first,Tulane did not match the qualities I liked in campuses. It is by no means wide and spacious! Instead it is skinny and long and smushed next to another campus. But as I looked deeper, I started to see little things that I loved. The architecture, the high tech feel of the student center, the beautiful modern art, and the backdrop of a truly fantastic city! Yes, it is smack dab in the middle of the city, but it has all of these beautiful elements that make me want to sit on the lawn and drink coffee like a hipster or something :).

     I often find myself making these silly comparisons. Tech is like this; Tulane is like that. I find I do that when God changes my location or direction in life. I always look back to the old and reminisce about the "good ole days". Don't get me wrong, I am so excited about Tulane and have loved every minute! But I no longer want to try and fit it into my current frame of mind. I want to clear the slate. Open my mind and take a posture of listening and learning. I think that is how we should approach every new task God has set before us. We should remember that there are new things to learn in every situation that God has set before you. He does this because in every new situation there is an opportunity to learn more about who HE is. That is so amazing to me! God wants ME to know HIM and He orchestrates my life in such a way to make that happen. WOW how exciting is that? I mean He is the creator, the author, the conductor of life and I get to know Him!

     I am excited to do just that. I am just super ready to not only love on Tulane's students this year, but to get to know my wonderful Daddy in Heaven.

Morgan :)