Welcome to Texas

“Welcome to Texas!” I’ve been welcomed to Texas more times than I can count since I moved from the Chicago suburbs to rural central Texas a couple months ago.  I’ve been welcomed by church members, by sales associates and cashiers, and by the Highway Patrol officer that I already got to meet. I’ve even been welcomed to Texas by former Texas residents that now live in other parts of the country.  Texans LOVE Texas, and everyone is an ambassador for the state. They also come equipped with loads of fun facts to share about their state. Did you know Texas used to be its own country? Or that there’s a pledge of allegiance to the Texas Flag? Do you remember the Alamo?  Get your camera ready for bluebonnet season! Also, if you think your state makes good bbq, you’re wrong. Have I mentioned that Texas was its own country?

I don’t say any of that to poke fun at Texans.  The truth is I love it here. The people have been great, and have made this 1100 mile move so easy.  The Texas pride just makes me smile.

Do you have a thing that you love that much, or that you’re that proud to be part of? Something that you love SO much that you have a mental file of fun facts ready to share with family, friends, strangers, or anyone that will listen? I was considering this the other day, and wondering what my “thing” is, and I was struggling to come up with an answer. Enter a holy nudge…”Hey, Katie.  How about your faith? That maybe could or SHOULD be your thing.” Oh yeah. That. That piece of who I am that has lead me (or shoved me, as the case may be) to where I am today. I certainly try my best to live out my Christian faith every day, and, on top of that, I’ve also made a career out of church work. It is literally my job to find ways to share as much as I can about my Christian faith with the people that I serve, so it was convicting when I couldn’t immediately identify my faith as my “thing”.

What if I talked about Jesus the way Texans talk about Texas?  What does that look like? Maybe I could be a great “did you know…” person. “Did you know Jesus loves you so much that he left heaven for the sole purpose of dying? Did you know that he took your place on the cross so that your sins are forgiven? Did you know that those days when the weight of your sin is crushing, he is your source of hope? Did you know that when you’ve failed, he’s there to dust you off and send you back out with a fresh start? Have I mentioned that he loves you?”

Sometimes, though, I’m more of an “actions speak louder than words” person, more comfortable sharing my faith through what I do and how I act, rather than a direct conversation. Maybe I crack my Bible open in a busy Starbucks, or pray before meals, even in restaurants. Maybe I regularly engage in service to my community, even if it’s just stopping by a neighbor’s house to say “Hi, been thinking about ya’.”  

You know, Texans don’t just talk about Texas to talk about Texas. They really, truly love Texas, and being Texan is a major part of their identity. Being a Christian is no different, with the exception that it’s even more central to who we are. I don’t talk about my faith just to talk about it, and I don’t talk about it just because it’s my job. I talk about it because I really, truly love Jesus, and I want to share that. Whether you work in the church or not, whether you’re great at the “did you knows” or prefer to let your actions speak for themselves, my prayer is that we all feel confident in our identity as Christians so that we can enthusiastically and unapologetically share our faith with anyone and everyone we meet.