faith…

sorry for such a delay in posting, my internet connections have been limited as i do not have any LAN cable or wireless router in my van.

But, the good news is… well, i will get to it shortly.

It has been a long 3 weeks, but basically heres how its gone down.

Chris and I arrived in wanaka for easter weekend and stayed with an amazingly ridiculous family, the parents were both chain smokers and cussed like sailors, extremely educated and brought about some really funny and really akward moments. Overall though they were extremely hospitable. After easter chris and I began to search for work instead of continuing to travel throughout the south island. We chose to do this because from what EVERYONE in wanaka had told us finding a job in about 1-2 months will be close to impossible, and finding accomodation will be even more difficult. So with that advice we parked our van anddecided to stay.

We began looking for jobs and had become extremely discouraged during the process. Not only was nobody hiring, it seemed as if people thought of us as just another number. It was so humbling at times Chris and i felt almost completely defeated… we felt so unoriginal and if that we were just like 1000 other American or brit tourists who had come to the area for jobs and a fun winter.

During this time we were also looking for accommodation, and coming up short too. Everything was either extremely far away or extremely expensive and unfurnished (not a good combo for 2 guys who’s entire life possessions fit into a 1989 Toyota hiACE van) but regardless… not even knowing where we would sleep at night we kept on living and trying to explore more options.

Late one night after a long day of searching for both housing and jobs, chris and I kinda broke down… we simply didn’t know what to do. We felt just like one of one thousand other applicants, but at heart we knew how different we were, how qualified we were, and how much passion we had for the things we were applying for. However, to the employers we were simply another number. this was the most discouraging moment I’ve had while in NZ but somewhere deep down I was reminded of my faith.

I have been thinking a lot while I have been in NZ and I think like many of you I don’t know what I believe, because I have been questioning and doubting every bit of what I have learned. I live in a very different place now both physically, mentally and spiritually. If there is one thing I have realized its that the community at SPU is extremely different than that of the “real” world… now to a snowboarder like me in a mountain town, i have realized that it still isn’t what some may call the “real” world but it’s about as far away from the SPU community as you can get. There are many things I have seen and experienced here that would send a P.A. into epileptic shock (maybe not my sister because shes a badass) but I am realizing that faith is not what you do everyday that makes you seem christian. Things like speaking in theological terms, praying before meals or reading your bible every day are not what make you a christian (at least in pauline terms… maybe otherwise if you tend to side with the catholic epistles. haha sorry couldn’t help it.) Sometimes, it is just realizing that god IS providing for you, and that he is taking care of you. Understanding that you are apart of a bigger plan, a plan that doesn’t have black and white lines but a plan that is about the redemption of humanity and will be done in so many different and crazy ways. I think if theres one thing I have learned on this trip, it’s that faith is sometimes simply living and adjusting to the things that come your way… because you cant control them and god is giving you provisions for them.

Gods faith is unlike anything else, and because of his faith I now live in a house. YES A HOUSE!!! its not permanent but its not a freezing cold van at 430 in the morning. Because of his faith i now have a permanent job YES A JOB!!!!… exactly where i wanted to be. (to be explained in the next post)

He is always providing, and whether your worries are housing, jobs, friends, money, food, purpose or fulfillment, he will give you all you need not only to be satisfied but to live and share life with abundance.

Thanks for reading… i hope this all makes sense and I promise (now that I have permanent wi-fi) i will be blogging at least a few times a week.

~ by taylorehanson on April 8, 2008.