I’m Beginning.

Zac Wierschem
Sep 2, 2018 · 5 min read
Just a casual stroll, don’t mind the obnoxious backpack local Spaniards

It’s late on a Saturday night. I am alone in my room full of memories of the 75 day pilgrimage I just came back from, scattered on the floor. My jet-lagged body says that it’s time to go to bed, but my heart tells me to start something new.

So here I go.

I’ve done a lot in my life. I’ve traveled to 23 different countries, graduated Magna Cum Laude from college, walked the 500 mile pilgrimage across Spain called the Camino de Santiago, been awarded by international organizations, and I’ve even taught English to refugees seeking asylum in Greece. And I feel like I am just scratching the surface as to the multiplicity of adventures I’ve been on and achievements I have received.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to brag. Oh dear no, I am much to imperfect to be doing that.

I’m just saying I feel like I’ve learned a thing or two and it would be an injustice to the gifts I have received on my pilgrimage thus-far through life to not be put to the free service of others and be multiplied. I am simply one of the servants of God, like in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25; but I feel like I was the one who was given 5 talents and I need to come back to God with 10 talents to be called His, “good and faithful servant.” I wouldn’t mind the talents of the guy who buried them either because I need all the help and talents I can get. :P

Also, side note, my faith is core to the reality of who I am; so if Bible references or an unabashed love of Jesus makes you feel uncomfortable in any way: my posts may not be for you.

Side note to the side note, I may use the semicolon or colon wrong or other minor (relatively speaking) grammatical errors but they make sense in my mind and help me express myself authentically: so I use them anyways. I believe in the middle ground of following the rules of grammar so that people can understand what you are trying to say, but in light of the true spirit of language as a medium (not the essence) of communicating ideas, if the idea can be communicated outside of the lines of grammatical law then let it be so. Take that Ms. Schoenfeld from 5th grade English. Can’t give me a bad grade on this baby.

I think this post’s purpose is just to set the stage for what I hope and plan on writing in the future, of course, for those who actually take the time to read this post and who read other things I write. I’m not being pessimistic, but I believe this will be a short-term blog, for what God has planned in my life could begin to take shape as soon as November or as late at March — I have no clue. And this plan, I know for a fact, includes limited to no access to the internet, living simply and joyfully, and the ability to only call my family once a month. I’ll speak more to this in upcoming posts because I’ve got to have a reason for you to come back and read more. *nudge nudge wink wink*

But essentially, I want to share what I’ve been given while I still have the chance to communicate it and put it out there. I also want to be clear that this is all very sacred things, very personal reflections of my heart, so I trust that you will treat these stories and posts as such. Treat them as you would treat some tissue your crush gave you in middle school that one time. Let’s be honest, you never threw that tissue away, but kept it’s boogery mess in your backpack in remembrance of your first love.

Expect a post at least every week, and if you’re lucky twice a week. I’ve got a life to live as you do, so I can’t be writing and reflecting all the time. Sometimes I’ve got to pray and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because that’s the only thing I can eat since I recently decided to cut meat out of my diet and everything else in the fridge has meat in it.

And firstly, what is most interesting about this whole project is twofold. 1. I can’t figure out how to make spellcheck work automatically on Medium, so I am relying on my previous knowledge of wrods and expertise in typing to make sure things are spelled correctly. 2. I feel, reading over what I’ve written before, that it has a very pessimistic and low-self-esteem tone to it, which is an interesting personal reflection of where my life currently is.

I need a higher self-esteem, as I think most of us do, and what sucks about this need for me specifically is that I was once so happy and go lucky to the point where the person leading a mission trip to Ecuador called me “Disneyland.”

Talk about a 180 degree twist.

So no, I’m not trying to get famous on the internet. I’m not trying to impress you with my extravagant stories and witty choice of linguistics, or fix all of your perceived problems. I’m not writing these for my own therapeutic benefit (but it definitely feels therapeutic at times).

I’m writing these to share.

I’m writing these to engage in a mutual transformation that results in the release of what dwells in me to undergo a divine alchemy by it’s vulnerable and authentic spilling out to be turned into something palatable by some people who want to read it and think it useful. And by a mutual benefit achieved by both the writer (me) and the reader (you), we can both leave each post a better person for having written it (me) and read it (you). I want to share the world as I see it and then, in turn, see the world as Jesus sees it because I grasp how I see things.

Feel free to join the ride, the line is not long. No fast pass required. Just a soft heart, open hands, and a tolerance of bad grammar and a perfectly imperfect love of Jesus.

Don’t forget to smile!

Your Brother,

Zac.

Zac Wierschem

Written by

Not your average seminarian ☺️

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