Dear Friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world...

I didn't want to go into all the gory details on Sunday night, so I gave the very shortened version of the story to a group of teens and parents as to why I wrote "Alien" on my shirt for the summer.

So for those of you interested in the entire story, here it is:

Junior high is a hard time for anyone. About 7th grade, I was having a really hard time. My hormones were all weird, I was feeling very "attacked" by my fellow cheerleaders, and to top it all off, there were some rough times at home (my mom's house). Things got so bad at one point that I finally just told my dad that I wanted to live with him. I can vividly remember locking myself in my closet in hurt and pain.

And so I escaped (as I tend to do), to a world of books and movies. Star Wars had just re-released the special editions into the theaters and I had a stack of Star Wars books that I would read and re-read. I got lost in the magical world of a Galaxy Far Far Away. I became friends with the characters (Jacen and Jaina were my favorite) and at some point, I decided that I would rather be ANYWHERE but where I currently was. And if I could pick a place, it would be in the GFFA.

So I began to pray. Literally pray that God would take me out of the place I was currently, where I was hurting and sad, and whisk me away to the Star Wars universe. Where I could be friends with Jacen and Jaina and train with them at the Jedi Academy. Sure, I knew that it wasn't perfect there, but defeating Dark Jedi seemed much preferable than Junior High.

I prayed every night for this. For probably a year. Maybe two... I can't remember exactly. But by the time I was in high school, life had calmed and my perspectives (greatly influenced by key people in my life- Deanna, Ashley, Mandy, and Jason just to name a few) had changed dramatically. I was beginning to grow in my relationship with Christ, and I couldn't imagine being anywhere without Him. Even if it was in a Galaxy Far Far Away.

Later, when I was in college, I was reading through the Bible and I ran across the Bible verse you see in the title of this post. 1st Peter 2:11. We are all aliens of this world because our true citizenship lies in Heaven with our creator. It struck such a strong chord with me. I was an alien. I would be able to visit another galaxy, dimension, heaven one day because of what Christ has done for me. But on my current planet, I was an alien. Something that I had always wanted to be.

And I got so much peace from that one simple verse from Peter.

I love the planet I live on. It's fun to read and watch and escape sometimes, but I am always glad to come back to my temporary and fleshly home. One day, I will escape this flawed place for good and return to my true home. Where Christ will be welcoming with wonderful open arms. And I will be an alien no more.