What DTS is about - why I moved half way around the world to do mine.

"In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore." ~ Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Writer

It was not easy giving up a really good job, a great church, and the comforts of my own apartment to come and do a DTS half way around the world. As I sold my furniture piece by piece I will admit I had serious second thoughts. “I can stay here and work on my relationship with God… I don’t have to do this.” But deep in my heart I knew that the words of the quote above are true, especially about my relationship with God.

I had lived so many years trying to be a good Christian, many ups and downs, often living a double life, most of the time bitterly discontent with the gap between what people said God was like and who I had so far experienced Him to be.When my best friend in university died suddenly, I got desperate for God. I must have written in my journal 100 times that year “God, I MUST have more of you. God, there MUST be more. I want MORE, God.” I knew, or at least suspected, that there was so much more to this God thing. In the margins of my Bible, next to the story of the pearl of great price, I wrote “This is my prayer.” It was an honest confession that God was not nearly as desirable to me as it appeared He should be. When desperation collided with honesty I decided to do DTS.

I must know God.

It’s amazing how much we “learn” about God that isn’t true. I had learned from life that God was distant, indifferent, and angry. When one of our speakers shared about God being one who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, my heart soared in hope while my mind sat back skeptical and jaded. I remember that on the first day of DTS I wrote in my journal: “God, actually, I don’t believe you’re good.” Even though it seemed like a written slap in the face, it was the beginning of a dialogue and a genuine search to know God as He really is. I laid down all the great things I had heard about Him, all the bad things I had heard, and the difficult things I had experienced. I put it all down and allowed myself just to find out who He really is. And, forgive the cliché but I have no other way of describing what happened: I fell in love.

As I sought Him wholeheartedly, holding nothing back, I found out what He is like, who He is. He is lovely. He is amazing. He really is the pearl of great price. It cost a lot to get that understanding, to gain that personal revelation of His goodness, but it was worth everything. And it is still worth losing everything to gain Him.

I must know Him more.

Get what you want. July DTS Perth, Australia.