In the Midst of Chaos

Written by: Jasmine Wiens,Summer Intern

This year, I am the only out-of-province intern at TCM. From what I hear, there’s always one.

I grew up in Manitoba on a dairy farm in the country. Since graduating high school, I have been studying at a college in Saskatchewan. In terms of population, I have moved from one small province to another. In fact, the combined population of the two provinces I have considered home is smaller than the population of the city I now find myself in.

This contrast inevitably exaggerates the differences between the hustle and bustle of big city Toronto and the quietness of the prairies. And one of these many exaggerations is the art of busyness that is glorified in the big city.

People rush constantly. People rush to work, people rush home. People rush to the beach or to church or to the grocery store. The subway is full of people in a hurry. And I find myself swept up in it. It’s almost as if busyness is synonymous with being sophisticated or civilized.

I don’t mean to say that being in a hurry is not glorified in small town life, because to some degree such an attitude marks the age we live in. But in a city as big as Toronto, the rush is magnified in a way unlike anything I’ve experienced before.

At the various Sonshine day camp sites we are not exempt from the rush. For the past two weeks we have been busy planning and preparing for camp to start. Yet in spite of the rush that marks our age, we start and end our workday with corporatear prayer. No matter how much time and effort our planning seems to require, the significance of our own efforts pales in comparison with the importance of offering our work to the Lord and seeking his guidance in it.

What stands in even greater contrast to the busyness surrounding us is the recognition that despite all of our planning, our efforts are not what are most important. As we stop our work throughout the day to offer all we are doing to God, we also stop and recognize his saving work, and ask that he would change hearts and lives this summer. That is work we are incapable of, no matter how busy we are planning.

May we live in God’s peace rather than our busy chaos. May the Lord be glorified through our efforts and may we always place him before ourselves.

Jasmine is a summer intern in St. James Town. During the school year she is a Biblical Studies major at Briercrest College in Saskatchewan. This internship has given Jasmine the opportunity to apply her studies in a unique way, outside of academia. She is thankful for the chance to serve alongside other interns and staff who are seeking the Lord in all they do.