Our Volunteer Coordinator's Recent Journey

Hi! My name is Brian Griffin, I am the new Volunteer Coordinator here at OIM. Since this is my first blog post I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce myself and let you know what makes me tick.

I am from Newfoundland many years ago, and I still hold the small-town values I grew up with. I will engage anyone anywhere. I wave to strangers; I hold doors for people; I want to talk to the person checking in my groceries; my contact list consists of literally thousands of individuals.

I had rejected the church as a young man and lived my life as if I were a rock, an island, I didn’t need nor could I trust anyone but myself. If I could not control the situation or person, I kept it/them at a distance.

Then my Mom passed about 5 years ago, and I suddenly realized that I was not the rock I thought I was; in fact I think it was the worldly presence of my Mother, a person in whose eyes I could do no wrong, that allowed me to hold it together. I suddenly found I was truly alone and terrified. I had built my life on a preverbal bed of sand and now the waves were washing away the foundation.

It was at that point, the lowest that I could possibly have sank to that I realized I was living a life without hope, and I began my journey to rediscover Jesus Christ, our true father. I have been on a 5 year journey of discovery that thus far has culminated in my re-examining the way I look at the world, truly looking at things and asking myself; Why are you doing this? Why are you thinking this? Is this truly what Jesus would do or are you just perverting the situation to serve yourself?

My discovery to this point has led me to know that the only time I am truly happy and content is when I am helping others. I have been seeking ways to serve the Lord in all aspects of my life since this realization. I do not know about you, but the hardest part of my journey is actually placing my faith in Jesus and trusting that he has got the wheel. I still must stop and take a step back on a regular basis, and remember I am not in control and that is as it should be. The way I see it, if I do not place my trust in God, I cannot have any hope; and I refuse to live in a world without Hope.

I have never been more at peace and I have no qualms about writing this because I hope that just one person will read it and perhaps be influenced by it. No matter how confident we appear, without Jesus we are not in control!

~Brian, Volunteer Coordinator