Goodbye, Oxford

My time here is finally coming to a close. I got here in the fall of 2003 as an 18 year old freshman and I'm leaving in the winter of 2009 as a college graduate. Thankfully, I have avoided becoming an Oxford "local," and while I am sad to leave some people behind, I am unbelievably ready to get out of this town.

Oxford has been quite a place to me and for me over the years. I'm definitely a different person now than I was when I got here. I have a better grasp on the concept of grace (I still can't claim to fully understand it - no one can - and part of that is having a hard time showing grace to others), and I truly know what it means to walk with Christ. I have been enthusiastic about things and completely and totally apathetic about things. My career path has stayed pretty much the same - a desire for ministry, although how that desire will come to fruition is still up in the air. There was that day or so (literally) I considered law school but obviously decided against that one.

I've been a lot of places. Colorado, Missouri, Washington, Canada, Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, Alabama, Georgia...maybe even some places I've forgotten between here and there. The one thing, maybe the only thing, I remember about those places are the people I was there with. Thinking back to road games for football, I rarely saw my Rebels win a game (my record for road games was 5-15), but none of that mattered. I couldn't even remember that off the top of my head, but for each one of those trips to SEC stadiums I remember hilarious stories from road trips and game nights with random people. For example, I can't remember for the life of me the score from the Tennessee game we wet to a few years ago, but I definitely remember going into the Bi-Lo and buying every bit of Cheerwine they had. I remember the Mexican restaurant we ate at and I remember playing Cranium with one of my camp friend's roommates and their Young Life team (which, for the record, was the best non-camp Young Life community I have ever been around, contrary to other people's claims. You could just feel the love - and we were complete and total strangers.) Stories like that bring a smile to my face.

Speaking of trips, I think back to Malibu all the time and the crazy road I took to get there. I remember laying in bed, recovering from ACL surgery, reading Through Painted Deserts and thinking "man, I need to do something crazy." And then I signed up to go to camp for a month in another country with a group of people I've never met and man...I have never been the same. I have seen some of the most beautiful things God has ever created, I have experienced community like never before, and I grew in my relationship with Christ like never before. I mean, I experienced God for sure at Discipleship Focus in Missouri, and those were experiences all their own, but not like at Malibu. Never before have I experienced the body of Christ coming together for the common goal of showing Christ to one another and to high school students. And the thing about that experience is that I saw what it was like to live in a community that truly loved one another - even when we didn't necessarily get along - and our ministry simply became the overflow of our community. And I think that's what the body of Christ is all about. And along with Malibu, I'm reminded of the times I saw my Malibu friends, whether it was weekend road trips or our reunion in Washington (best New Year's ever, by the way).

Not all of the great memories were in mythical, faraway lands though. For some reason the one thing that sticks out in my memory is the night that Taylor Sledge, Matthew Coker, and I sat out on Sledge's car port/side patio and ate pizza and just hung out. The more I think about it, the more memories like that come to my mind. I've spent nights out on the Square, I've spent nights in the Grove, but those things didn't stick with me. It was the little things with my close friends - with the people I am looking forward to living near again. On paper, two and a half hours isn't too far and football weekends are great times to catch up, but when it comes down to it they aren't.

The biggest part of my life over the past several years has been Young Life. I have truly bittersweet feelings about leaving it behind, but I know it is the right thing to do. I will try my best to focus only on the good memories (an Avett Brothers song comes to mind - "One Line Wonder.") And I'll definitely miss my guys - Jon O., Billy, Bodie, Sumner, Stewart, Matt, Reed...I hate listing names because I know I'll leave people out. And even the guys who came before them. But those guys will always hold a special place in my heart because I met most of them when they were freshmen and now they're seniors and seeing the growth and fruit in their lives has been incredible. I know they aren't perfect, but it's amazing seeing the change and growth. On top of that, they are definitely guys I consider friends for life. And it's always sad to leave friends behind.

It's hard to believe that come Sunday afternoon, I will put my Oxford residency behind me. I'm ready for it, though. And I can look back and see that God has made good on his promises to me. Times weren't always easy - I still struggle with some of the things I came in struggling with, I had bouts with depression and loneliness, there were times when nothing seemed clear, and heartbreak. Oh the heartbreak. But I know that I am a better person for all of that. And so as I willingly and excitedly close the chapter on this phase of my life, I just reaffirm Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

It's been quite a journey, and it's funny because when I made up this account I titled my blog "The Ramblings of a Wayward Son," but now I'm going home. I'm not quite a prodigal, but at times it feels like it. And the warm embrace of family and friends waits for me back home. I am thankful for that and can't wait for it to finally happen.

Until next time,
Chandler