A Small Fishbowl

So, I am well aware that no one reads this, as I haven't told anyone about it, but it might feel good to write anyway...
I'm almost finished with my first semester at Asbury...It's been challenging and exciting. It' s been amazing to see God work and provide...not a week has gone by that God hasn't continued to provide for all of our needs and we rejoice and give witness to the power of God. Classes have been a challenge, and I continue to plug away (which is what I should be doing right now). Nothing like a little Matthew/Greek/New Testament to fry one's thought processes. I'm looking forward to Reading Week and Thanksgiving Break and I'm finding it very difficult to motivate myself to finish up the semester.

I walked down the street to Clucker's Corner Market the other day. For those unfamiliar with Wilmore, Clucker's is a unique place. It's the local gas station (that was also listed as a grocery store in my Welcome to Wilmore literature...tells you something about Wilmore!) and it's the local meeting place for everyone. One wall of Clucker's is lined with more JellyBellies than I even knew existed, and country music always blares over the radio. I get coffee there (if one can call the dark liquid that they sell coffee), and a few days ago I realized something somewhat profound...Outside of an occasional trip to Clucker's or the Kroger, I don't interract with the world. I walk by a sign in the commons everyday that screams "The World is our Parish," but the only world I meet is full of people like me...Seminary students and their spouses who sit and learn and engage knowledge...People who know Jesus. Rarely do I encounter anyone who doesn't know Jesus and who isn't engaged in a relationship with Him. Never do I share the faith that I have with one who doesn't...in fact, my discussions about faith are with people whose faith has brought them to the same conclusions that I have. I really don't even run into "liberal" Christians...We're all evangelicals here. So where's my world? Is my fish bowl too small, so that I've forgotten that the world exists. Clucker's Corner Market is less than a block from ATS, but it's worlds away. Why am I not in that world?