What in the World Am I Doing Here?

I look around at a city with 800,000 people and wonder what in the world I'm doing here.

This isn't even close to what I'm used to. Most of my last three years were spent in a small college town in the cornfields of Ohio. My summers found me back in my 15,000 person town in the middle-of-nowhere: Michigan's Upper Peninsula. While to many, Columbus may not be that large, that new, or even that impressive, it's an altogether strange experience to be in a place like this for more than a brief overnight visit.

It's insane. This city is only an hour from Cedarville University, where I'm a senior digital media major. But the world of difference between cornfield college town and city college town makes them feel a million miles away from each other. I may as well be living on another planet.

I'm not used to everything being so spread out, so populated, and so...well...BIG. I'm not used to the smell of stale smoke everywhere, or limited parking on my one-way street, or so many restaurants, bars, and stores all in one location. I'm not used to locating a grocery store, walking there (to maintain my one parking spot I found at the house), and bringing back just enough cheap groceries to sustain me for a few days.

Then there's the house. I live on campus at Cedarville, so it's not like I'm not used to living with other guys and all that. But it's definitely a little different sharing a house, as opposed to a dormitory. One bathroom and one shower make it a little more difficult for folks with similar schedules. One washer and dryer, however, means the old college principle of "the best time to do laundry is late at night" is still holding true. Still...the entire feel of things is different.

And then there's the reason for being here to begin with--interning and working. With the incredible opportunity to intern with promotions/marketing at a radio station in Columbus also comes the need to work a job to provide financial stability for rent, food, and gas. Effectively working two jobs, balancing their schedules, and doing so in a new environment will prove certainly rewarding and certainly challenging.

That's not even considering Africa this summer, either. In the process of everything else, I'm also in the middle of raising funds for my July missions trip to Dar es Salaam, the capital city of the African country of Tanzania. Paperwork, passports, and the always uncomfortable support letters asking for money get thrown into the mix of unfamiliar territory for me this summer.

But here's my hope.

It's God. Plain and simple.

I can already tell that it's going to take deliberate action to keep myself engrossed in God over this summer. We're not in the Cedarville bubble anymore. As a crazed Theoden says to Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, Columbus has indicated to a "passive Christianity" that:

My summer looks like a practical outworking of everything Dr. Jeff Cook taught me over my junior year at Cedarville. I'm in downtown Columbus, living in off-campus housing at The Ohio State University (which pains me greatly as a Michigan fan, but I digress). Everything we talked about in Urban Ministry class can come into play.

Treating those on the margins with respect. Building up those around you. Looking to see people as half-full and not half-empty. Asset-based community development.

Then there's the July three-week trip to Tanzania...shades of Contemporary World Missions all over the trip. Respecting the culture. Not having a "savior-complex." Working and praying with folks and not for them.

At the end of the day, the song is right: "You're the God of this city."
Whether that be Cedarville, Dar el Salaam, or Columbus.

Let's go.