"Surprise me please, God. I'm waiting"

I have been doing this pastor thing for a few years now and I have to admit that I get discouraged when I see the moral decay that is happening around me. I know the decay will get worse before Jesus can come back and it is all in God's timing, but it's still discouraging. As a pastor, how do I lead people through this minefield? I get so burdened by my calling sometimes and just wish that God would take it all away. Mind you that isn't very often, actually it has only happened a couple of times, but when it does God always puts someone in my path that lets me know He is still in control.

As you know I have been doing a series titled God's Extreme Makeover. We have spent the last few weeks talking about how God cares more about the hearts and intentions of humanity more than He cares about fashion and keeping up with the latest trends. As a way to wrap up the series I wanted to interview Katie Brewster who is the reining Miss Huntington Beach. She also placed in the top 12 in the Miss California pageant and in the process won the evening gown part of the competition.

I have know Katie for a few years now and was really curious about how a humble girl that loves Jesus views fashion, beauty and the role a Christian plays in a world of image. Due to unforeseen circumstances the night she was to come our conversation ended up being pretty loose and unscripted and I think that is exactly how God wanted.

There are two things that I will take away from my conversation with her. The first is that she got criticized by people in the pageant scene because she feels the most confident in herself when she isn't wearing any makeup and doesn't have her hair molded to perfection. Crazy huh?An 18 year old Orange County beauty pageant winner that feels the most beautiful when she doesn't paint over the beautiful canvas that God designed her to be. I think that is something all girls should take notice of.

The second thing I will take away from her is something she said that made everyone in the room laugh, but was said with such raw honest sincerity that it encouraged me in such a way that I know it had too have been orchestrated by God. She said that she is so addicted to God right now that he is like crack and it immediately made me think about all the drug addicts that I have met and how they can't see beyond their next hit and how they prioritize their life just so they can get another fix.

I connected with that statement because that is a place that I find myself in right now. About 3 weeks before this interview I found myself in a spiritual desert. I was just going through the motions of being a Christian but here lately I have been craving God again and it feels so good to be addicted to something that's more powerful than any created thing. So powerful in fact that it created all living things.

So thank-you Katie for sharing a part of your life with us. God used you to show me that He is still alive and working in a generation that seems to have forgotten who He is and for giving me a big dose of encouragement along the way.