Vale la Pena ... if you read any of my blogs, read this one

The Dash in the Middle

Her laughter broke the short-lived silence and peaked not only my own curiosity but also the curiosity of my other roommate Niche and I wondered how a little girl of Karen’s stature could produce such a hearty boisterous laugh. She definitely captured our attention and we waited with much anticipation for her to reveal the reason behind her sudden outburst... (background info: they had just seen pictures of my sorority house and of my trip to Europe and Cuba when she started chuckling uncontrollably)... She smiled, showing off two rows of sparkling straight white teeth, and then proceeded, verbalizing her hidden thoughts “Well, she said, I was just thinking… Brooke, you were just telling us all about your adventures. You have been all over the world and it’s funny because ahora tu estás aquí con nosotras en México durmiendo con las cucarachas”…. Are you ready for the translation, my sweet monolingual reader?? …. She said, “it’s funny because now you are here with us in Mexico, sleeping with the cockroaches.” At this, I’m sure we awoke Cordoba with the laugher that spilled out of our dormitory into the streets. Concerning the cucarachas, the past two nights we have slept with the lights on because of our fear of these little creatures… (and I must stop right here to tell you that I just had to kill one climbing up the wall next to my bed even as I am writing this… haha) … We laughed at the absurdity of me being here. I had been all over the world and I had just lived 2 years in a mansion by a lake (the Chi Omega house) and now I am sleeping in a dusty cockroach infested dorm room with no air conditioning. Why the heck would anyone in their right mind make the adjustment that I made? The memories are fresh on my mind of waking up to the smell of bacon and biscuits or returning from class to a squeaky clean room. Mrs. Dorothy, our cook, prepared our every meal including Louisiana’s classics and my favorites: jambalaya, gumbo, and red beans and rice while sweet Mrs. Tic from Vietnam vacuumed our rooms, took out the trash, and cleaned the bathrooms. Ok so back to the question, why the heck am I in Mexico? Was it hard to trade in the colossal Doric white-washed columns for bunk beds? Or Louisiana cuisine for empanadas and gorditas? Or the extravagant American lifestyle for a less extravagant missionary lifestyle? As they ask in Spanish, ¿Vale la pena? (Is it worth the price?) Believe me, sweet friend, I have answers to all these questions and now I hope to have your attention.

I think the best way to answer these questions would be to explain why the title of my blog is “The Dash in the Middle.” What in the world could I possibly be referring to? Any guesses? How I would love to engage in conversation with you and to hear your reactions and thoughts. I must confess I often wonder who you are, reading these words of mine. If you have a question about what I am about to say I would love to hear from you, one of my favorites things is to talk about faith. Ok let's begin- the dash in the middle refers to the little dash mark in between the year you are born and the year you die on your tombstone. Ah, you see it now? Yes, let’s talk about death for a minute in order to talk about true and satisfying life, the kind of life that vale la pena (it’s worth the price) of getting out of the bed in the morning. Do you know what I am talking about? Are you experiencing this kind of life? If you are not, let me let you in on a little secret, which in fact is no secret whatsoever for many and many years millions of people have wholeheartedly to the point of death accepted this secret (which once again is no secret)... Ok, here we go… if you have ever wondered why I am the way that I am …. This will explain it…

First of all…. Let me tell you that there is a God in this jacked up world and He knows your name. In fact, He loves you more than you know but there is something that separates you from Him, which is yourself…. You and I are imperfect human beings. Let’s just say that your mom didn’t have to teach you do something mischievous or bad when you were little. Am I right? We were born knowing how to get ourselves in trouble and desiring whatever this trouble promised. For example, although my mom told me no cookies before dinner, I put my hand in that jar, desiring the taste of those chunky chocolate chips more than wanting to obey her command. Or it took your dad saying “don’t touch the stove” to make you put your little grubby hand on that hot surface. You know what I am talking about. We were all born with this rebellious nature, it is our instinct because it was the path chosen for us by our forefathers, Adam and Eve but as some of you know the Bible doesn’t end with the story of them eating the forbidden fruit. Genesis is only the first book in the Bible. There are a lot more books but I will give you the spark notes for right now… So our nature = sin (any action that goes against God) and God is perfect without sin so therefore imagine a chasm separating you from God. Something had to be done because as I said, God loves you more than you could imagine so He provided a way for us to get to Him through sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to die on a cross and to conquer to death. This is the reason Jesus Christ came to the earth, He came to take on your punishment for sin thus offering you a second chance… and this second chance includes a real personal relationship and eternal life with God if you so choose. So what exactly am I trying to tell you in other words? …

This: The Creator of the Universe wants a relationship with you. You were created to know Him and be loved by Him. I can help you understand this way: We were created with a God-shaped hole in our heart and we live life trying to fill it with so many other things. For example, I have seen so many people try to fill it with religion, alcohol, sex, food, other’s approval, and many other things but all these things never completely satisfy but leave the person wanting/ needing more. Jesus will completely satisfy your God-given needs and cravings. He will give you purpose and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. This relationship with Christ, if you chose to accept Him, starts with you giving your life over to Him. Repent of your sins and acknowledge that you need a Savior and that you want this life that Jesus offers. Salvation is an internal transformation. It’s you giving up your life to follow Christ. So you might ask, Brooke, how do I do this... You must not just intellectually believe this but actually receive Christ by personal invitation. Receiving Christ involves you repenting of your sins and turning to God and trusting Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sins.

Sweet friends, I made this decision… this decision to accept Christ into my life…. this decision to become a Christian… this decision to follow Jesus… this decision to give my life over to Him….. awhile back when I was preteen. I remember someone explaining these same truths to me and all of sudden my eyes were full of tears because I wanted to be reconciled with God, I wanted to taste His sweet forgiveness, and I wanted the life that He offers. I didn’t understand everything but I knew enough to make that decision, and I wholehearted prayed to God, giving Him the control of my life. And I am here to tell you that this is the most important and best decision you could ever make. It’s not about religion but about a true meaningful relationship with God and it starts with you giving Him your All because He gave His all for you. And I don’t want to fool you into thinking that your life will be a piece of cake once you become a Christian because it’s not BUT you have someone who will never leave your side and you don’t fear death because you will forevermore be in the presence of God. God has changed my life and He can do the same for you, in fact, He wants to do the same for you. Give Him your heart, because then it couldn’t be in safer hands.

Therefore; my life’s message and plea to you is the following:

The majority of us will have less than a hundred years of life on this earth. Make your short dash in the middle count. After you experience the forgiveness of Christ and begin to get to know Him, I think you would be more than willing to do anything for Him…. Sleeping with cockroaches in order to tell others of the way He has transformed your life becomes nothing… to tell others what I have told you: that there is real abundant life in Jesus Christ makes everything you go through….. completely… vale la pena ….

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13