The Choice to Move

Coming back to California, staring at all the LA traffic, it hit me. It’s over. I went to Jackson, I learned a lot, and now it’s done. All the good times I had, listening to John Perkins speak, living in that house, was over, and there was nothing I could do about it. But as I sat there, I began to realize something. It’s not over. This is just the beginning. I didn’t have to come back from this trip thinking “what a great experience, too bad it’s over.” I can turn what I’ve learned into a lifestyle. I don’t have to take my memories put them in an album, talk about them for a week or two and then store it away in a box or in the back of my mind. I can live it out! I knew having this mindset wasn’t going to be easy. I would go back to school, to people that wouldn’t understand what this trip meant to me, or to people that refuse to open their hearts and minds to hear what I have to say. I also wouldn’t have the Jackson team to help me out as much. During the trip, I felt like they were carrying me and helping me learn and grow to become the person God wants me to be. Now, coming back, I have to walk alone and grow and learn by myself. I won’t be carried anymore. It’ll be my turn and I’m afraid that I’m going to fall. But I can choose to have that fear consume, discourage me, and hold me back and I can remain stranded, OR in the words of John Perkins “have courage, and follow my convictions in the face of fear,” and MOVE. I can take what I’ve learned and apply it to my life and teach others to do the same. Even though I won’t have my team there every step of the way, I’ll have God and He will strengthen me in so many ways. He will lead and help me if stumble and help me to be Joshua to my school and community. On that bus, thinking of all these things as I began to fall asleep, I made a choice. To Move.


Kara