Harvesting Joy: Sean Caffery

I am notoriously bad at planning anything or sticking to plans in general. If you can imagine to the best of your ability the feeling of going wherever the wind blows, then that’s me most of the time!! To most, that sounds horrifying, especially when I tell them it applies to all facets of my life; for example, my decision to come to Louisiana Tech was all on a whim. I find that my preferred way of life is to go where I feel God is leading me, and for me that seems easiest when I do not attempt to take control of life. The most important people I have met in my life and the development of these friendships have all stemmed from me giving away the reins of the majestic horse of God’s plan. The flexibility I introduce into my life allows me to constantly encounter God through the shared experiences I am able to have with others. Even the very stepping into The Wesley for the first time was cultivated from a willingness to drop what I “needed” to do. From there, I have felt God’s presence in all I encounter from attending The Well, or even just the one-on-one hangouts with people I met. 

I mentioned previously that my experiences with others give me a glimpse and encounter of just Who God is, but now I want to tell you how. At the end of each and every day, I take time to reflect on these conversations and experiences I have had and try to discover how God was speaking to me through that person. I do this in hopes that I can grow how God is telling me I need to, but it doesn’t stop there. This next part is how, in my honest opinion, I have learned how to “Harvest” Joy. (Get it, because it’s a Harvest Post.) (This series of jokes sent me in a spiral of laughter and talking to myself, but those screws have now been tightened.) Once I have discovered what God is trying to tell me through others, I write my discoveries from the reflection into my Snapchat streaks, so that others have the opportunity to gain knowledge and guidance in their life. I can’t be sure that they will always apply to someone else, but occasionally people will remind me of how much the reflections help, which brings me joy knowing that I am able to help others. 

After doing these reflections for the number of years I have, I have found that the wellspring of joy that God offers us can be tapped into through love and service of the women and men God placed on the Earth with us. Loving one another can be difficult at times when the person you are trying to show God’s love to thinks of things differently, and people will always think differently than you on at least one thing. The love God calls us to show to others forces us to step outside of what we want more times than not. Loving in spite of the pain it will inevitably cause is precisely how God loved us. Our pain and suffering from following in Jesus’s example will likely not be as extreme, but it is just as necessary for us to do. 

Following God’s model of love has brought so much joy to all who try and follow it, especially me. For me, all the friends I have made over the years continuously show me what it truly means to love as God loves. I am so thankful for all the experiences of love I have made with each and every one of my friends that I cannot imagine how drastically different my life would be without even a single one of them. For this reason, I am affirmed in my trust of God. With this affirmed trust, I am worry-free in my approach to living life, which leads back into continuing to trust where God is bringing me in life. This in turn becomes a cycle of opening my comfort zone to the more extreme places God needs me to go to so that I can show even more people what God’s love is all about. When I think about the impact I have on others, it’s difficult to think of how I got to the place I am at, but plainly and simply, it has been by submitting to God’s will time and time again, and I can rest assured that by continuing to do the same, I will continue to find myself exactly where God needs me to be. 

A sophomore at LaTech in Chemical Engineering, Sean is the kind of warm and friendly person that makes you feel like you’re home. He is a beloved member of the Wesley and we are blessed to see him each time he walks through the doors. When he’s not studying, spending time with friends, or at the Wesley, you can also find him at A.C.T.S. on campus where he is similarly treasured. We hope you get to meet him.