by Lexie Daché
I have to admit, when people ask me my favorite thing about being an RA at Liberty, the answer can easily change based on the week, my mood, my latest conquest and struggle. While my commitment to the position is unwavering, my feelings easily fluctuate. However, there’s one area that’s always positive and always encouraging (yes, just like Christian radio) and that is RA class.
Each leadership position is required to attend a weekly class, and my love of these meetings has grown over time as I’ve transitioned from Prayer Leader to SLD to RA. This past Tuesday in RA class, Danny Lamonte, the director of Resident Assistants and Resident Directors, made the accurate comparison of Liberty and church camp, and titled the lesson "Back to Life." We joked about common church camp experiences, and I laughed with the girls at my table about how my first “relationship” came out of middle school church camp. You won’t be surprised to hear that just like Danny’s personal account, the romance didn’t last past the time our bus pulled back up to the church... and back to life.
On a serious note, a challenge and lesson coming out of church camp was the mission to not lose heart. I remember reading 2 Corinthians 4:1 while in high school, which says, “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” But even though this verse sounds clear, it’s not easily carried out, which is shown in the life of any student attempting the nearly impossible task of maintaining summer camp momentum.
In high school, I lost heart post camp pretty drastically. But because of God’s mercy, my story doesn’t stop there. However, now that I’m older and wiser, does this mean I’ve got the act of “taking heart” down? Not at all! I am not shy to share that this is a personal struggle, but something that keeps me going is the one part of this verse that was missing for me in high school, and that is the ministry. The RA ministry is given to me through God’s mercy. Ministry keeps me going because I constantly need the reminder that it’s not all about me, and when I act otherwise, I am asking for exhaustion. But the Lord gives mercy to those who are fulfilling His calling, and carrying out His ministry. This is definitely something to cling to as we try and take heart, even when the time feels like “post summer camp.”
Lastly, the RA and SLD teams have been awesome in getting involved with leadership hash tags. If you’ve missed it, check out this week’s: #LUcommUnity and #VisionSLD. Similarly, I’d love to hear your feedback from those of you reading this blog! So answer me this...
What is your favorite part of your ministry this week?
How have you seen God’s mercies through your ministry?
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Lexie is a first year RA on the Hill and treats the RA twitter hash tag like her personal account. She's known to get really cheesy in her blog posts, but refuses to apologize... You can find her being friends with her leadership team and watching cat videos. Recommendations are always welcome.
