Christian Women in Leadership

2004

I wanted to blog about three things I learned since October in 2004. Why since October, I'm not exactly sure, it's when I moved to my new apartment (solitude, at last) in the suburbs, where I had more solitude and also much closer to work, so less time spend commuting in stressful Chicago traffic. Also, I started attending a new church at this time. For one of these reasons, or both, things really started to open up for me. This is what I learned, starting with

1) Homecoming 2004: Compassion for people outside the church

Homecoming rocked and I wanted to write about it, but no internet access in my apartment. Nevertheless, here I am to blog about it 4 months later. Beside the fellowship being awesome (and seeing all my long lost buddies!), I think that the Lord spoke to me profoundly on one account, which had me thinking weeks after the event.

Basically, I waited 4 years for a CD. And it was worth it! It was the 1997 "Harrod and Funck" CD (Okay, I could have ordered in on Wheaton College bookstore website, but I just never got around to it.) So, when I was back on campus, I thought I'd go and search for this CD in the campus bookstore, for which I purchased the last one, with my 5% alumni discount. Why I adore this CD is for a couple of songs: "39" "Lion Song" "Worry Too Much" and "Brian Wilson's Room"--which reminds me of Wheaton College. Mostly though, it's for the song "39." Back in the summer of 2000, when I lived in Wheaton, one of my roommates--who I actually ran into at Homecoming--had this CD and I would always borrow it (with her permission of course) and play this song many times. I knew all the words, but I never knew what the song was about.

I mean, I never knew what the author intended. I sort of guessed what it was about, but I never knew the actual reason why Jason Harrod wrote the song.

However, Jason Harrod (http://www.jasonharrod.com) was the "Late Night" Homecoming concert, after the Orchestra and choir. I went with my friend, Jeannette, but there was ton of other people from class of 99 there, and it was great to see them again. We sat in the balcony, where we always used to sit for WCF. Jason Harrod is sort of Christian Folk, just him and a guitar, and sometimes a harmonica! My gosh, the concert was so worshipful. Several of the songs, I just stood up. He sang a bunch of his new songs, since going solo. At the very end of the concert, already 12:30 am when he was suppossed to stop at midnight (hey, this is Wheaton, the quiet suburbs) he decides to sing my favorite song "39" (followed by another one of my favorites, "Loin Song." I was so psyched!) It was then that I finally learned what "39" was about. After he graduated, he read in a newspaper about these people in a cult in silicon valley (God knows why I love this song!), I believe they called themselves, Hell's gate ?, or something like that. Anyway, they were a whole group of people, 39 of them, who were decieved into thinking that coinciding with a comet passing earth, God was returning, and if they committed at the same time this comet was going by, they would be spared and go right to heaven. The song "39" is Jason's postcard to these people.

Okay, I never would have guessed the song was about 39 people in a cult in CA. I always loved the melody, and some of the lines in the song were beautiful to me, for example, "Do you feel the cooling hand on your forehead?" Through this song, more specifically the author's explanation of it, I felt like the Lord spoke to me, sort of on the prophetic level: He highlighted Jason's compassion for people outside of the church (I mean, way out there) and in the same way, that's suppossed to be the mission I'm on.

When I think about Jesus' life, it could be summarized that he had compassion for people outside of his own little group, all the people who didn't believe in Him. (I mean, he also invested in his own group, too, but that's another topic...) After Homecoming weekend, and listening to "39" many times over and over again, I came to work a new person Monday morning. I felt like my heart was changed, and finally, I was like, "I get it! Life is about extending compassion to all of these non-Christians." It was a real break-through for me. Since I want to be a medical doctor, I can't just accept patients who are Christians. No, if I want to be in business, I have to work with everyone, and that's just my calling.

posted by the princess @ 1/20/2005 07:00:00 AM