138...

138...the number of steps it takes for me to get from one class to the next. The number of calories in my favorite Starbucks drink. The number of French terms I have to master by Monday. And the number of times that I swung a golf club last Saturday.

138 is not normally the number that any golfer would want to see written next to his name on the final scoreboard. Actually, most golfers would be pretty embarrassed by a score like that. I, on the other hand, was not embarrassed at all, I wasn't even disappointed. As a matter of fact I was extremely proud. As I stood at the clubhouse, looking at my posted final score I took a moment to thank God for everything that He had pulled me through to bring me to the point that I was at.

Playing golf is a huge commitment of time and energy, but it is a commitment that I love. It is a de-stressor and a relaxer after a super long day. Sure, the tournaments can have their stressful moments, but most importantly they are fun and stretching experiences. Two years ago if someone told me that I would be playing golf on the collegiate level, I probably would have just laughed at them and told them that it just was not possible.

138...it's just a number when it comes down to it, but it's a number with meaning to me. A number of accomplishment. A number that God placed in my life as a milestone. Sometimes the numbers that God places in our lives make sense and other times they don't. For the engaged couple anticipating their wedding day the number 3 signifies the months until they will be joined as husband and wife. The college senior looks at the number 50 and instantly thinks of their long awaited graduation day when they will be released into the world for the first time. For a couple the number 3 could represent the weeks since they experienced the loss of their first child through a miscarriage or the number 6 could represent the number of months since a navy wife last saw her beloved sailor.

Numbers represent milestones in our lives. Whether they are good or bad God gives them to us. They are ours, but we have to chose to claim them and let them represent the things that God has done to make us into who we are, and into who He wants us to be.

138...for me it represents accomplishment, a milestone that I have a reached that I was never sure I could. 138...the number of golf swings that I took last Saturday. 138...the number that gave me the opportunity to share with another golfer about my school and my God. 138...a number that represents the small impact I was able to have on the hearts of two other girls who needed to hear that God is good. 138...Maybe not impressive to some, but special to me.

Dirty Jobs...

As I was thinking about my blog the other day, I realized how long it has been since I have last written something. School has kept me terribly busy and golf eats up its fair share of time, so my writing has taken the back burner lately. With midterms over and only seven weeks left of school I figured now is as good a time as ever to hop back on the blogging bandwagon.

A recent topic of conversation, for some very strange reason, between my friends and I has been the things that gross us out the most. I mentioned that the thing that makes me just want to spit is the idea of skin. Yes...skin. Let's just put it this way...I used to be a nursing major and had to take an Anatomy course, during which we studied skin in every little minute detail. I've never looked at it the same since that class. Of course, when any random topic comes up it always amazes me at how God can pull together that topic and something that He wants to teach me. 

This morning, as I was doing my devotions, I was reading the account of Jesus washing the disciples feet. This story has never really hit me like it did this morning. Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, got down on His hands and knees in front of His disciples and cleaned their filthy, smelly, calloused feet with His own two royal, majestic, holy hands. I got to thinking about the process of washing someone's feet. The idea is to remove the dirt and dead skin from that person's feet and to make them soft and clean. 

I then, of course, started to think about how disgusting the idea of washing someone else's foot really is. I am pretty sure that it could qualify for its own episode of "Dirty Jobs." My Lord cleaned other  people's feet. He did the dirty work in this case and He did it willingly and completely out of love. Jesus was setting the example for His disciples who sat in that very room with Him that night, and He was setting the example for us today. 

If I am a Christian, I claim to be a follower of Christ. I look to Him as my example and my leader. If all of what I just wrote is true, then shouldn't I be following His example. Shouldn't I be doing the dirty jobs? If you are a Christian shouldn't you be doing the dirty jobs too? 

Perspective check. Are you choosing to live like the Master, or are you choosing to be the Master and set your own standards?