A Pink One

I climbed the familiar steps, they had those grip strips on them and they worked too. I know because I had tried and failed to slide down those very stairs on my mattress. I climbed those steps with a beige colored file folder in one hand and a flower pen in the other. I knocked on the wooden door, it was answered by a nervous, quiet girl, Jenna. She was living in the freshman dorm in which I was an RA and I was meeting her so she could be moved to another room. I did my normal spiel about how I needed to check the room for damages, how happy I was she was moving to my floor, I prattled away and she quietly smiled out of politeness.

            We walked back down the steps and I showed her, her new room, only a few down from mine. The last statement I made was “Well, now that you’re on my floor, we’ll probably be best friends". Little did I know how true that statement was. 

My fantastic friend and wonderful small group co-leader, Sara.
She has always challenged me to give all that I  have to the Lord!

            It was my sophomore year of college and I was a Resident Assistant in an all-girl freshman dorm. I had applied for this job that last spring even though it had not been my plan at all. You see, I have a dear friend, Sara, who talked about becoming an RA in this dorm in order to minister to the girls there and to show them with the love of God. I remember practically staring at her and saying “God would have to specifically tell me before I ever did anything like that”. A week later, Sara and I were walking through the halls of that dorm praying for the girls, asking God to move in that place, asking for His love to reside there. I saw a poster advertising the RA position and something began to tug on my heart, I stubbornly ignored it, convincing myself that God just wanted me to pray for the RAs in that dorm. Right. The following Sunday, I listened to a sermon about reaping and sowing, the things we sow for the Lord we will surely reap. I responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, prayed and the next day I turned in my application for the RA position, one hour before the deadline.

            Truth be told, I don’t think I was actually qualified for the position. I transferred in half through my freshman year with enough credits to make me a sophomore so I ended up in transfer student apartments, I had never lived in a dorm before. I didn’t lie on the form, I told the truth and I knew God would open the door if it was supposed to be opened. When you applied, your name was put in for all RA positions, not one at a specific dorm. Again, I didn’t know what would happen but I knew God would open the door it was supposed to be opened.

            I went through the whole process, the group interview, the individual inter

Some of our small group girls!

view, the waiting time. I did not know what to expect and then I got the call that I had the position, as an RA in the very dorm I had spent the last semester praying in once a week. No questions were asked about my living in the apartment or about the fact that preference was given to those who turned in their application first and mine was last. God had opened the door.

            To say God burdened me for that dorm would be an understatement. I knew God had given me this opportunity and I wanted to honor Him in it. I began to pray for my girls that spring and I prayed all summer, praying that God would break my heart for the girls in my dorm, praying that I would see them the way He did, praying He would continue to open doors. And oh boy, He did.

            Sara and I started a small group in my dorm room. During move in day, I had met girls who loved the Lord and wanted to grow in Him. I also met girls who knew nothing about Him and they all became part of our group. Sara and I were part of a campus ministry called Chi Alpha. The first service, ten girls came with us. And it continued to grow.

            Honestly, I look back in amazement at what God did. Every week, more and more girls began to come to Chi Alpha and small group. Every week those who were coming continued to grow in Him. God moved so much and it is truly a miracle. Barely older than these girls myself, I had so much growing to do that year, I made a lot of mistakes, I overcommitted a lot, I was caring around my own wounds but God worked in spite of all of those things. Opportunities to share my faith came up like I had never seen.

            A few weeks into the school year, I challenged the girls to fast and pray for five friends who didn't know God. Jenna, had just recently moved in with one of my friends and small group girls, Julia. Julia began to pray and fast for Jenna. For five weeks, we prayed, we fasted, we invited. Finally, after receiving an invitation by one of her friends back home, Jenna came to a Chi Alpha service (if that’s not a set up I don’t know what is). God changed Jenna’s life.

            After that service, Jenna began to come to church, to small group, to Chi Alpha. She was quiet at first but I will never forget the day she sat in my dorm room and shared what God had done in her heart. I cried, a lot, which I’m sure freaked her out. As Jenna began to come to more and more events, I saw God completely transform this girl and she became one of my dearest friends. I was amazed at how quickly Jenna was accepting God into her life and with the maturity she was growing in Him. I had never seen anything like it.

Dear friends, Jenna and Julia

            In January, only a few minutes after Jenna attended her first Chi Alpha service, she came to a conference with all of us. At this conference, Jenna was filled with the Holy Spirit. It was one of the most powerful encounters I have ever experienced with God. When we returned from that conference, God did even more than He had already done. Our small group went form eight girls to 18 within one week. By the end of the year we were averaging 20 girls. Another Chi Alpha small group that met just down the hall had also reached over 20 and the two other small groups in this dorm also grew.

            Jenna began inviting her friends, telling everyone she knew what God had done in her. It was easy to forget that Jenna had only known God for a short time, she grew in Him so fast. Jenna and Julia soon became some of my dearest friends in the whole world. There room was only three doors from mine, which meant I was in their room everyday.

            When I look back at my sophomore year, I am utterly amazed. By the end of the year, I had personally seen 17 girls from that dorm give their hearts to the Lord for the first time, and Sara and I were leading only one of five small groups in that dorm. I don’t believe there was one week in which a new girl from this dorm didn't came to Chi Alpha for the first time. It was an absolute joy watching God move in the lives of the girls. I am even more amazed because despite all of this, personally, I don’t think I have ever struggled so much. I had to deal with a lot of my own junk that year, hurts I hadn’t let go of, fears that I wouldn’t surrender to God, trust that I wouldn’t give Him. God is so faithful that way and He knew I needed Jenna that year.

            Today, two years later, Jenna is a best friend. Now a small group leader herself, she shares God’s love with so much grace, compassion and wisdom. Her heart is so pure before the Lord, wanting only His will for her life, no matter the cost. Jenna is a huge support in my life and I frequently go to her for advice and prayer. I cannot even describe what a blessing she is.

            I learned so many things from Jenna. More than I can ever say. I have learned that we are never too old, or experienced or smart or “saved” to grow in the Lord. Her questions challenged me to dig deeper, to study God’s word and to really get to know the Savior I had served for so long. Her hunger for God is truly inspiring. Whenever I felt discouraged or thought of quitting being an RA (which I frequently thought of doing), God would remind me of Jenna. She had a child like faith, which is something I had forgotten to have. I got saved at a very young age and truth be told, I don’t remember it. I grew up in Sunday school and Bible camps and family prayer times. I had become so familiar with God, I had forgotten what my life would have been like without Him. After my sophomore year, I felt like God had saved me all over again. He gave me a new heart and I have tears rolling down my face now, just thinking about all He has done for me. Sometimes it is easy to forget that Jesus saved us and healed us and that we can do anything through Him. When I watch Jenna’s faith and desperation for the Lord, I am  reminded of what God has done for me and the life we are supposed to live with Him.

           

Jenna and I: Easter break of my sophomore year

One of my favorite stories from small group that year involves Jenna. She had been a part of Chi Alpha and church and small group for several months at this point and was growing so much in the Lord. We were all sitting in a crowded circle in my dorm room about to start small group. Like usual, we started off small group by asking a question and every girl took a turn answering. Tonight’s question was what kind of Bible did each girl have. What I meant by this question was what translation did each girl have (for example, NIV, KJV, ect). These beginning questions weren’t supposed to be deep but rather just break the ice questions (I usually asked things like “If you could be any fruit what would you be?”). It was Jenna’s turn first. She looked down at her Bible and back at us with kind of a confused look on her face. Then she answered “A pink one”. We all laughed, because although her Bible was indeed pink, that was not the answer I was looking for. Although this is a funny story, I learned something from this.  At this point Jenna was telling her friends about Jesus, was telling her family, was praying for people and reading her Bible daily. She was already being used by God.

That was one of the ways that I learned the incredible power of saying yes to God. Jenna had very little former Bible training and some may say she had little knowledge but she had said yes to God. The details didn’t matter and I have seen this girl share love with so many people. The next year, Jenna became a small group leader, less than a year after receiving God for herself and God has used her. It would have been easy for her to decide she didn’t know enough to begin sharing Him or she wanted to learn and receive more before she took on a role of giving. When I became an RA that year I was unqualified, broken and young but God opened every door. Even getting the position was a miracle but what God did afterwards was astonishing. I could have easily said no. I could have taken one look at those job requirements and said nope, obviously no one would hire me, I don’t qualify. Although in my case, I technically didn’t qualify, I realize there are so many times when I don’t step out in faith or say yes to God because I decide that I don’t qualify. I struggled with my relationship with God my sophomore year, it really stretched me, and yet, God used me anyway. Nothing can disqualify us from being used by God except ourselves. When God asks us to do something, all we have to do is say yes, and He will take care of the rest of it even if we don’t “qualify”. There is a strength to willingness that I have so often taken for granted. God doesn’t want our qualifications, He wants our yes.  I don’t mean that we should lead immaturely or without a lot of prayer but I do mean that if God is calling us, He will provide as soon as we say yes.

            Jenna is one of the dearest friends I have ever had. She inspires me daily and encourages me always. I can’t imagine my life without her now. Her friendship is a huge blessing in my life but truth is if I hadn’t said yes to God, would that even be the case? If Jenna hadn’t said yes to God, would we be where we are now? God has so much in store for us, so many blessings He wants to pour out on us, all we have to do is say yes, and He takes care of the rest. And its better than we could have ever imagined.