By Jessie Hosch, Class of 2024
The Charlotte Fellows has provided me with rich experiences relationally, spiritually, and vocationally. This program has helped me grow in so many ways, so as it is nearing the end I wanted to share some of my takeaways that I hope to hold onto and continue to embrace in this next chapter:
Serve the City - Part of the Charlotte Fellows Program involves visiting nonprofits each week to learn more about the city we live in and the needs that it holds. In our time in Charlotte, we have visited and volunteered with so many great organizations meeting the needs of the people in Charlotte. When you live in privilege, it is all too easy to be ignorant to the injustices and suffering those around us carry. In one of our nonprofit visits to Urban Promise, the leader of the organization quoted Micah 6:8 to explain the heart behind the ministry. “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Such a simple command, but my heart strays from it often. I want to learn to do justice–even if it comes at a cost to myself. I want to love mercy–acknowledging the depths to which I do not deserve what I have been given. I want to walk humbly with my God–remembering that every good gift and talent is a grace bestowed on me that I do not deserve. I pray that the Lord continues to craft in me a heart that wants to serve Charlotte.
By Grace Alone - Oh the ways my heart seeks to strive. I strive for approval– for signs that I have done “good enough” so that God and others will be pleased with me. How little I understand the heart of God. This year, the Lord has revealed to me the ways I cannot be perfect. I am sinful. I get jealous. I am prideful. I seek my own betterment before the betterment of others far too often. I am in need of a Savior, and though I can say it, my heart still understands so little of what that means. What a beautiful picture it is that Jesus would save me not because of anything I can do, but just because of His love for me. Grace is not a one-time exchange, but something we live out of. “Cheer up! You’re a worse sinner than you ever dared imagine, and you’re more loved than you ever dared hope.” Understanding the depths of our sin allows room for us to see our belovedness all the more. The heart of the Father is rich, and I am so grateful for the ways he has revealed his character to me this year.
We are Ordinary - Instead of living into the pressure of our society to be GREAT and make a name for myself, I am learning that Jesus calls us to be present in the simple, day to day moments; to lead a life filled with humility and ordinary practices. He calls us to care for our neighbors and our coworkers. He does not call us to extraordinary things – He calls us to himself. The pressure is off! God is pleased with the obedience in my small life. I hope to continue to live into the small, ordinary moments life has to offer and believe that this is where God works and brings heaven to earth.
Upside Down Kingdom - In the Charlotte Fellows Program, we often talk a good deal about the integration of faith and work. We live in the already, but not yet, which leads to toil and longing in the Christian life on this side of heaven. The Christian walk is not easy. The world is broken and deteriorating, yet the Lord allows us to play a part in his redemptive plan for the earth. This creates some tension in our lives as we live life moving against the current. As a Christian, I want to use the resources God has given me differently than non-Christians, and it will cost me. I want to spend my time differently than non-Christians, and it will cost me. I hope to give away my power instead of using it for gain, and it will cost me. The Christian life is not easy, and it requires sacrifices, but, oh how sweet and rich it is to walk alongside Jesus. We cannot do this life alone, we need brothers and sisters to encourage our hearts as we wade into the already but not yet.
Hope! - This is probably my favorite thing I’ve had the pleasure of learning more about in my time in the Fellows program. The world is groaning for Jesus to come back, but He promises to make all things new! We can see it in the seasons, in the cycles of life, in the stories we read, in the music we listen to–there is a hope beyond this earth that our souls long for. Jesus brings dead things back to life. He is in the business of restoring and redeeming. What a joy it is to get to partake in his redemptive plans on this side of heaven. With our eyes set on eternity, we can move through the suffering and hardship this world has because we know the Lord is making all things new! What a privilege it is to walk alongside others in their suffering and to know the depths of our own souls, yet believe that there is hope to be had because Jesus is coming back!
I love the Charlotte Fellows program and the ways it has aided in the healing of my heart and breathing life into dark spaces that seem hopeless. Jesus knew what my soul needed when He brought me to Charlotte. These nine months will change the way I live my life forever. The rest of my days I long to sit at the feet of Jesus and be in awe of his mercies–that he would take interest in someone like me.