So maybe this blog post is more for my family than anyone else to let them know that I'm still alive! :) But I guess they already know that when I write so much. I have written more letters in my first month of college than I did in the 3 months of summer combined!
I have taken very few pictures in the past 2 months, but here are the snapshots of what life has been like as a Small freshman in South Carolina.
I am pretty thrilled to say that my first semester of college is already (or finally...) half over! The past several weeks have been a whirlwind of information and my brain is crammed full of things I've learned both spiritually and academically since I arrived 8 weeks ago. God has been SO good to me, and I am so overwhelmed by His patience with me as I learn, forget, and learn again. THAT is love.
Getting ready to say a 3 1/2 month goodbye looks like this. I hate goodbyes...especially with this girl.
Dorcas was the first person I met on campus. I am so grateful I had her in those first few days of knowing nothing about what I was getting into!
Dorcas and I also went to Rush together, ate so much food, and met so many new people.
What I learn at college: finally I know what these things are called.
After a few weeks of getting into the grind at college, I was able to get a babysitting job with such a sweet family! They spoil me so much, and I get to play with this kid and his toys!
Thankfully I don't have to babysit the grasshopper as well. But I couldn't help but be amazed by his enormous size! (Tirzah, you know how glad I was to be on opposite sides of the window!)
Candy corn is the meaning of fall.
^This is undoubtedly the best place on campus. My mailbox is practically my key to survival in college. I love my daily walk to and from the mailbox compound, especially when I find encouraging letters from friends and family. They MAKE MY DAY every time. And sometimes I have to send pictures home to prove that I'm still alive and not a skeleton.
Almost daily access to Lucky Charms would've been my childhood dream.
I absolutely love waking up to pictures of my family every morning. And to a special hymn in my sister's handwriting. My little piece of home away from home.
It DOES rain here, just very infrequently. I get so excited about raindrops every time.
My first pumpkin latte of the season on a day that finally started to feel a little like fall! This Washingtonian is so ready to say goodbye to summer!
Right about now I am overwhelmed with God's grace for me. In the past couple of months, several people in my life have reminded me that God is continually pouring His grace upon me. His grace, love, and patience for me--a sinner who is constantly falling into old patterns--is so abundant, and my mind can't quite understand it. Yet, despite my lack of comprehension, it is still there for me. The God of the universe cares about me, and the anxious thoughts of my mind. That is definitely something worth rejoicing over daily.
I was listening to this prayer by Fernando Ortega this week and finding such truth and depth in it. I, too, want to find my love for God even deeper and stronger tomorrow than it was today.
A couple months ago we took another walk to the lighthouse. It was our 2nd walk on this beach, and this time was a little more relaxed than the previous try. It was another perfectly blue day and another wonderful day to gaze across miles of water and listen to crashing waves. I love the sound of natural sources of water.
Johannah impersonating a whale...or a seal. I can't remember which.
Now rather unrelated to the beach walk (I had to sneak in the pictures somewhere at some point!), "I will carry you" is a song that has come up on Pandora quite a few times in the past month. Somehow it always catches my attention. The chorus particularly speaks to me because some days I need to be reminded that God promises to carry me, to be my strength, to pull me through whatever hard things are in my life. At this point in my life I guess I can just relate to these words and have found encouragement through this song.
Whatever is going in your life today--this week--whatever hard things you are facing, God will carry you. Each one of us has reason. When it seems hopeless and lonely, I, too, have to keep telling myself that I wasn't meant to walk this road alone and I must again reach out for Him to pull me through.
Sometimes I wonder if my beating heart has a reason
The thought of breathing only takes my breath away
I've spent so many nights wrestling with this feeling
Do I have the strength to make it through the day
But I was never meant
To walk this road alone
I can always trust you
When you say
I will carry you
Be your strength
And pull you through.
Reach for me
And take my hand;
We will pray
And we will stand
In a world
Crying out for peace.
Let your heart be strong,
For when I am weak
You will carry me
Sometimes you wonder if the road you're on has a reason
