Kairos: Defining Moments

Kairos.

It's an ancient Greek word that I was first introduced to at a camp a few years back when the theme of the camp itself was Kairos: Defining Moments. That whole week was spent learning about kairos, or a defining moment, from the Bible and from our own lives that were tied to our relationship with the Lord.

That summer itself was a kairos in my life, a time when I realized I hadn't fully given my heart or my life to the Lord years earlier, but I needed to in that moment, at that camp in eastern KY the summer of 2010. It was a defining moment like no other.

The beautiful thing about a kairos is that it can happen any day of our lives, even if we don't realize it at the moment. Sometimes, it can even become not just one singular moment in time, but an entire season in our lives. Within the past year, perhaps the biggest kairos was my fall internship with the Red Bus Project in 2014.

Several people have asked me since coming home almost two months ago, "So how was your time in TN?" or "What's one thing you took away from your internship?" I LOVE when people ask me those questions, but man, sometimes I get frustrated because I don't know how to answer. Trying to explain to someone in ten seconds or less how life-changing that season was or how big of a kairos it was in my life is like asking my little brother to explain what he's learning in math class right now (trust me, if you haven't looked at fifth grade math recently, it's a doozy). It can be done, but it's so much easier to show rather than tell. Nowadays, I usually end up showing people pictures from the internship when they ask me about it or I pick out a story from the internship to tell.

You can never fully capture the beauty of a kairos unless you're experiencing it. It's still hard for me somedays to completely wrap my head around everything that happened from August-November last year-and I even get a second chance to wrap my head around it here in a couple of weeks when I move back to Franklin to do it all again!

Kairos is something we all have in our lives and it's beautiful to think that God had all of them planned from the beginning of time. Just like how He prepared me for both the fall and spring internships, He's prepared you for the kairos in your life.

It wasn't until tonight that I really realized this. In the midst of several days of ridiculous levels of anxiety and crying just thinking about this new internship and being together (thanks Skype!) with all my interns/part of my RBP fam for the first since November tonight, God showed me that yes, this new internship is a big deal and yes, it will be another defining moment, and even though I have moments of extreme anxiety thinking about it, it's okay-God's got this all under control! Sometimes, I wish I could audibly hear God give me a pep talk, but thank goodness He uses people in our lives to give that to us when we need it.

(Side note: Anxiety has kinda gotten a good hold on me the past couple of days, but man, I am so PUMPED to be back in Franklin here in a couple of weeks! Seriously, I can't wait to meet the other interns, get back into the swing of things at the office, and hit the road. Most importantly, I can't wait to learn more kiddos' stories so I can speak up for them while having the chance to hear so many other stories from the people I'll meet along the way! RBP Spring 2015, I'm ready!)

So whatever kairos is heading your way, get ready! It's going to leave a mark! It may seem scary and thrilling all at once, but it's beautiful. And it will change your life. No matter how unprepared or prepared you feel, God's been getting you ready for this moment from the beginning of time. He's set it before you. It's our job to dive in head first, to take that leap of faith, and soak in every moment within that kairos we possibly can.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." -Ephesians 2:10 ESV