Six weeks. That is all it took for me to be “focusized,” rocking my ideas of marriage and family to the core.
My summer internship at Focus on the Family is an experience I will never forget. Blessed by God’s I-know-what’s-best-for-you-ness I was assigned to work in Boundless — right where He wanted me and right where I needed to be. I had obviously heard of Focus, but Boundless to me could have been the name of a rock climbing company (and it probably is somewhere). I had really never heard of it before I walked in the door this past summer.
I was ready and willing to get my hands dirty doing whatever Focus had for me: editing, filing, or the notorious intern duty of grabbing coffees from the local Starbucks. Little did I know there was so much more in store.
I was introduced to Boundless and instantly fell in love. I remember attending my first informational meeting as they described it to me, my hands strategically under my bum to keep me from asking a million questions. My heart was beating out of my chest as passion collided with reality. THIS is what I wanted to do. THIS was the type of ministry I was looking for. THESE are the people I want to learn from, and THAT is my cubicle?!
This was no random luck-of-the-draw positioning. I sat there knowing this was exactly where God had led me, and for the first time in a long time, I knew without a doubt that I was right where God wanted me to be. The weeks unfolded as I was able to interact with people I never thought I would get to meet (Phil Joel, Tim from Travel the Road, and maybe even an unmentionable member of The Fray). I learned from the best on a daily basis, and learned so much about a ministry that I used to think was only about a grey-haired cartoon named Mr. Whittaker. It was six weeks of intense hands-on learning and personal development. I grew as a person and God’s will for my life was becoming clearer.
The internship unraveled into a fulfillment of acquired knowledge and a deep ministry passion for Millennials that (somewhat unknowingly) God had engendered in me over the past few years.
It is amazing to see how God takes a phase of life to prepare you for the next. Although I feel like I have gone a little backwards–back to being a college student and out of the workforce– I know that what I learned and experienced at Focus has prepared me for this next step of life. God has shown me another glimpse of the plans he has for me and where my talents and passion are best fulfilled. I am very excited to see what is next.
BUT for the time being, yes, I am a senior in college at Dordt College in IA. I am absolutely STOKED to continue blogging for Boundless and love being able to stay part of this ministry.
Not only do I want to put a quick plug in for Focus on the Family internships (fyi it will change your life), but I want to reintroduce myself after my brief siesta from blogging. I am excited to step into this next phase of life and am glad I get to take you all along!
