In the beginning, there, very literally, was light.

YFC was where I learned how to look and live life more fully. The night of my first YFC retreat, I noticed the camp shed's yellow flourescent lights make shadows among the trees. You normally think of spooky things when light flickers like that, but instead I noticed how pretty and constant the light was. In the background people were singing worship songs with lyrics referring to God as "the Light." Those few moments changed the way I thought about things.

Who can forget their first spiritual retreats? I sure can't. I often think back to that day, whenever I do anything spiritual-related. Many miracles happened soon after that retreat.

No matter how out of tune or incompatible, people's voices magically blended in worship. The Bible's words, gibberish when I was younger, began to make sense. It became easy to pray to God, easier still to include Him in everything that I did. I can't see him, and often want to ignore Him, but somehow He manages to be present in everything that I do.

He also managed to pacify a lot in me that needed explaining. For example, I wanted to know why in the world was I sent to Chicago to be with family I could not get along with, share campsites and my 6-stringed instrument that once made only me happy, with strange people who called themselves people of God. Why in the world am I going to class in this school, not at the one I had worked so hard to get in to back home?

At that time, shortly after my first YFC camp, I could not possibly understand or even begin to imagine how far God would take me -- literally: Ten cities, three colleges and several classes and sets of friends in between.

And then a strange thing happened -- I graduated from university and started working full-time. I'm still at it, this job, which is right in my major.

Some organizations exist soley for match-ups -- that members could find meaningful relationships with one or two, or a group of people. YFC is that. Others exist to forward a goal or ideology that they think is pertinent today. YFC is that as well.

But what I liked best about YFC is that it strives to be that forum where you can express yourself about God however way you wish. For leaders, this community is imperfect, feverish, artistic, incomplete and cumbersome to maintain. But for some mysterious, unseen, unknown reason, it stays alive, the result of love -- which is God.

Join us, one of these days, and stick around -- contribute to the creation that is community, particularly, YFC. God is calling. Will you answer yes?

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