30 March, 2010

Ambition

It's all still so surreal to me that I'm in Australia and that I've been here for 2 months! That means it's been 2 months since I've seen my mom and dad, it's been 2 months since I've seen the rest of my family, it's been two months since I've been to Reality LA, it's been 2 months, since I've slept in my own bed and cuddled my cat (ok, maybe it's been a little longer since I've cuddled with Chantilly, she's a goober!), it's been 2 months since I've had real Mexican food, and it's been 2 months since I've seen the sun set over the ocean. And it's been 4 months since I've been at USC! I talked about studying abroad in Australia for so long, and it still gets me that now I'm here. I literally have to say it out loud to myself sometimes, "I am in Australia!" And I have exactly 90 days left in Australia.

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom... Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days... and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" Psalm 90:12, 14, 17.

"Ends" in our life are inevitable, whether it's a final exam, graduation or leaving Australia. So the question remains, how do you prepare? What do you do with your time? You can show up to graduation, but if you haven't prepared they're going to ask you, "Who are you? What have you done?", you can show up to the final exam with nothing to say or write, but the exam is still going to happen. And that's easy to say for a final exam or graduation, but what about life? We don't know when that is going to end. So we should treat each day like a holiday, a holy day, with a purpose, treating each day as if it is our last so that we live it in a way that counts. This is what the Psalm 90 sermon at the FOCUS Getaway was about, but to be honest, God and I had already had a business meeting. So now I have 90 days left and I don't just want to be another American exchange student who comes to uni for a semester and then leaves. What good is that? No, I have an opportunity by being in Australia, a reason I'm here and not at USC this semester, so I certainly don't want to squander it. I'm here because God wants me here. I'm here to serve rather than to be served. I'm here to do God's work. And that's exactly what I am, God willing, going to try to do.



Figuring out what that means exactly is another story. A lot of Australian uni students and especially exchange students get part time jobs because the pay is really really good in American standards. A minimum-wage type job here could be as much as $17/hour! That's definitely attractive to an exchange student from California, with one of the highest minimum wages in the country, who gets $8.75/hour. Imagine how many more souvenirs I could buy, how many more drinks I could afford, how much more traveling I could do! Extra pocket money would be fantastic! But how selfish is that?! So this semester I am employed by God. I looked at my class schedule and plotted out the hours of availability I would put on an application for a job and instead set those hours aside for God's work. Combined with church and Bible study, it's 16+ hours. If there are 168 hours in a week, I've set aside 10% of my time and I'm tithing it to God this semester. What He will do with it, I have no idea, but it will be more lasting and more rewarding that working at a shoe shop. Some days it means an extensive passage study, or intercessory prayer, or meeting up with other students and just showing love. It could be helping someone carry their groceries from the store to their dorm (since they get pretty heavy), taking out my neighbor's trash, or sitting down for a chat with a friend and Tim Tams. What I have to be careful about is making sure I don't use these hours for my own purpose like taking a nap, wasting time on facebook, going to the bank or grocery store for myself. Unfortunately, my efforts started out good and sadly the past two weeks have been a mess. I am an incredibly selfish person, not to mention I get distracted soo easily! But I have 90 days left. That's 90 days God could do amazing things! He can do amazing things with just one day, would you be willing to give Him even just that? And your prayer and support in this would mean the world to me! It's great knowing that I am not alone, even if I am thousands of miles away on the other side of the world! Thank you! :)

2 comments:

  1. T-minus 90 days until you return! Yay! I love you.

    -Campbell

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thats awesome Andrea, will be praying!

    ReplyDelete