The First 6 Months

The past 6 months here at the Honor Academy have truly made a genuine impact on my life. I have learned several life changing lessons in such a small amount of time. I have learned that being a leader is not about getting the glory of the high position or being able to boss people around. Being a leader is about approaching people like Jesus did, as a servant, in order to set the example and guide those following us and looking up to us on the path towards Christ. I have learned that God created us for a certain destiny and gave us the skills and spiritual gifts necessary in order to complete our destiny. We so often flee from what we know God has called us to do and then we ask ourselves "why isn't God speaking to me?" or "why can't I hear him lately?" when we have been constantly ignoring him the whole time. Whether it be that time he asked you to talk to that stranger at Wal-Mart or the time he asked you to go to Africa, we so often like to think to ourselves "was that really God asking me to do that" and then before you know it the opportunity has left. We need to learn to be obedient in the small things so that he can trust us in the bigger things. During the first month at the HA (Honor Academy) there was a seminar put on by Gateway Church in Dallas Texas. During this seminar the Lord had told me that I needed to forgive my Dad for all that he had done to my family and I. For those of you who don't know, my parent's got a divorce when I was 12 due to the fact that my Dad was simply put, not a very nice person. After not talking to my Dad for roughly 6 years, God wanted me to forgive him for all that he had done and to be honest my first reaction was slightly bitter; however, after him continually speaking to me and changing my heart, I decided it was in my best interest to listen to God. After forgiving my Dad, I felt a weight being lifted off of my shoulders and to be frank, I thought that was the end of it. Later on during my internship during a class called "Trailer Club" they had started focusing on our relationship with our fathers and told me that I had to write a letter to my Dad. I ended up writing to him and since I didn't have his address I decided I would hold on to it in case the opportunity to send it would arise. About 3 months later in January, my Grandparent's, who are missionaries from Mexico who I haven't seen in 7 years, contacted me and were wondering if they could visit me due to the fact that they were in Texas visiting my Uncle Tim. The Lord told me to meet up with them and gave me a indescribable peace for the situation. I ended up having a really great visit with them and received my Dad's number along with his address from my grandparent's. The Lord spoke to me telling me "Now is the time" and I knew he was talking about the letter. I ended up sending it to him on Facebook later that night and he joyfully responded with enthusiasm, as any Dad would after not communicating with their son in 6 years. I had decided to call him that weekend in order to catch up and to see what was going to happen from this point forward. We have now talked every weekend and he is bringing his new daughters to the HA for Campus Preview Weekend in February so that they can see if they are interested in coming to the HA as well in August. This will be the first time I will be seeing my Dad in 6 years and I am not sure what to expect from our relationship. I know that the Lord has a plan with all of this and I will be keeping an open ear for what he has for me in the future and what my next steps should be.