I want to get my feet dirty...

A professor of mine recently encouraged those of us in class to keep a personal blog. I have always been skeptical of the idea of blogging. Somehow the idea of exposing my inmost thoughts to a group of people who know nothing about me is the perfect definition of being vulnerable. However, after sitting on the idea for a while, I thought it a fitting mode of conveying my aimless thoughts and ramblings to an unknown audience in a way that I would not be able to otherwise do.

So... here I go... Hello blog, my name is Katie. It's nice to be your friend.

The title of my blog is Dirty Feet. Why, you ask? Because I want to get my feet dirty. To me, dirty feet imply that you're doing something with your life. To get your feet dirty you've got to take some sort of action, right? That picture was taken this summer when I was working at a camp called Crooked Creek Ranch. Probably one of the more memorable months of my entire life. I spent the entire month serving High School kids as they came to camp, crazy, I know. I got to be the hands and feet of Jesus as they spent a week of their lives being kids. You see, I work with an organization called Young Life. Young Life seeks to share the message of Jesus Christ with junior high and high schools kids who wouldn't normally step inside the walls of a church.

When I tell people what I do, they often look at me as though I am crazy. They respond with, "why in the world would you want to spend hours upon hours with kids that are 5-10 years younger than you?!" And, I would think for a minute, and look back at them and respond with... "because I love to." But, ya know what, it's more than just loving to do it. It's because every time I look into the eyes of a junior high or high school kid and see how lost and lonely and confused they look, I desperately desire to share the message of Jesus with them. Ya know, just in the last few years have I really truly realized how radically Jesus can change a life. And I look at this lost and desperate generation of kids who come from broken homes and have broken relationships and I so desire them to know that they are loved by their creator, that they are cared about and thought about and that they are so beautiful just the way they are.

Just yesterday I got an email from a girl who had been coming to Club (our weekly meeting) but has kinda fallen off the face of the earth. She said, "I'm ready to come find a friend in Jesus." It's moments like that, that make me realize why it is I do what I do. Because the moment these kids realize they can't do life on their own is monumental.

I am convinced that I could not do this job... no.... I know for a fact that I couldn't do this job without a loving God who grants me the ability and the patience and the heart to put myself out there to these kids. And you look at the life of Jesus and how he walked around from city to city sharing a message of hope... He got his feet dirty. And not only did he get his feet dirty, he changed lives. Radically.

So, simply said, I want to get my feet dirty.