7 Days {edited}

Twenty-eight

Day five. That night, we learned that God made the sea animals. It was so interesting to learn about all the different kinds of fish and things like that. I'd always felt a connection to the water, probably because of my name.

I loved being able to participate in the sermon. I remembered how much I hated it the first time, and the second. It dawned on me how much had changed in just five days. I'd made lots of new friends, become a Christian, and even got a little out of my comfort zone with the whole sports thing.

It was amazing how much I'd changed in less than a week. And I couldn't wait to see how different my life would be at the end of these seven days!

- - -

That night after group, I wanted to spend some time in reflection of the past week. But I wanted to do it outside in nature, so I told my roommates that they could go have fun without me. While Emily, Cami, and Jordyn went to the game room with Blake and a few other guys, I pulled on a sweatshirt and found my way around to the chapel.

Finally, I came to a fountain. It was right outside the chapel, and it drowned out all the sounds around. I sat on the edge and stared up at the sky.

"Mind if I join you?" said a familiar voice from beside me.

"Ah!" I screamed, tumbling backwards.

Lincoln caught me just in time, before I fell into the water. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

I felt the pounding of my chest as my heartbeat quickened from the panic. Soon, it began to slow back to its normal pace. "I told you, you've gotta stop scaring me like that."

"Sorry. You just looked like you could use a friend."

"It's okay. And what makes you say that?"

"It's dark, almost lights-out...No one else is around...You're all alone. A guy notices these kinds of things."

"Well, go ahead. But don't push me in!"

"I won't!" he promised, holding his hands up in surrender. Then he sat down on the ledge beside me. "So, what are you really doing out here all by yourself?"

"I just needed some time to think. You know, about this week."

"Ah."

We sat in silence and just stared at nothing for awhile. Then I felt his eyes on me and forced myself to meet his gaze. "What?"

"I'm really glad you came, Rain."

"I am, too."

"You didn't let me finish." He took a deep breath. "It might seem like I'm the one who helped you, but, believe it or not, you really helped me. I was struggling a lot with my identity and my purpose here on earth, and you showed me what it is."

"I did?"

"Yeah. I guess what I'm trying to say is, without you, I might never have known that my purpose is to help people. Because of how I helped you, I was inspired. I think I want to go on mission trips and help others out there like you. Well, the old you."

"Lincoln...that's amazing."

"You think?"

"Of course."

"Well it's all thanks to you. I'm really glad you're here. And even though you came with a lot of baggage, that's okay. Because of your problems, I was able to find my identity."

"Glad I could be of service," I joked.

He smiled at me, and I smiled back, and it lasted for awhile, both of us just staring at each other. But then I broke away, as always, and stared back into nothingness.

It surprised me, what he said about my baggage helping him. I'd never thought of it that way. When you look at your problems, that's all you see: a problem. But you never realize that it could be helping someone else.

So in a way, I guess problems are a good thing.