Tuesday, May 22, 2012

A lil' bit of the past....and a lil' bit of the future...

I have spent a lot of time today pondering my future....all the promises it holds, and all the questions that it raises. 


It makes me laugh that almost exactly a year ago I was sitting in this exact same spot, wondering what college was going to hold, who I was going to meet, and what exactly this whole Impact 360-gap year program- crazy stuff was. Well Impact happened and God open and shut doors accordingly, and now a year later I'm looking head on at the next turn of life and I STILL don't know what to expect! Of course, now that Impact has ended I have a lot more information to draw from. I've experienced God in new ways, and there are hundreds of memories that I hold close and treasure, and pull out when I'm starting to really miss the way things used to be. There are songs that I can no longer hear without picturing the people that sing them during worship, fast food restaurants that are bitter sweet because they just aren't the same without my best friends. 


I know for sure that I'm going to Columbia International University next year in Columbia, South Carolina, and I am beyond excited. The inner bookworm that I sometimes smother is secretly pretty excited to start studying Psychology....and to start and end all required math and science courses :/ I'm unbelievably excited to be living in South Carolina, especially since I'm only going to be about 2 hours away from my best friend & her family who live in Savannah. Not to mention that Savannah is just BEAUTIFUL, and will be lovely to get away to every so often. 


But that's about where the certainty ends. That's the only thing God has shed light on. And at times that's really, REALLY frustrating. Partly because I'm uneasy and tired of waiting, but MOSTLY because I just like having answers. I like knowing what I'm working for. I like  knowing what tomorrow and the next day and the next year brings, because even though I'm spontaneous I really am not a huge fan of nasty surprises. 


So I suppose (okay, I KNOW) that this is where trusting God comes in. And facing one day at a time comes in. And being patient and letting God and time and relationships and future plans and goals grow at their own pace, at God's pace, and not mine! 


Basically all I know is that right now,  it looks like I have an amazing summer to spend with my families and make memories. I have a wonderful school to head to next year. I have incredible friends to stay in touch with. And I have an all-loving, all- knowing, all-powerful God  who holds the rest. The future is looking pretty bright :) 

Friday, May 18, 2012

One week ago....

...WE GRADUATED FROM IMPACT 360!!!! Excuse me. We were commissioned :)

It's hard to believe that a week and a day ago I was experiencing my last night at Impact 360....and now I'm back home again & snuggled into my own room! BUT. The last week has been rather a doozy :D

Last Friday was commissioning, which was absolutely amazing, and then the day directly after was Move Out Day (otherwise known as D-DAY), and lots of tears, and notes, and goodbye hugs were exchanged. It was a gorgeous ceremony, and it's still incredibly weird to think that we're now the Impact 360 ALUMNI of 2012. Ahh!!


Well since my entire family made the drive up from Katy to watch me...be commissioned I guess would be the right term, and since the drive BACK to Katy is another 13+ hours and we didn't want to do that twice in 3 days...we decided to stay in town for the weekend and just relax. So after saying goodbye to my classmates at school, and my best friend after lunch, (tears...lots of tears...) I got to spend the weekend with my family and the bestest friend at the Callaway Cabins in Callaway Gardens! Which was absolutely, unbelievably gorgeous and rainy and perfect :) Also, I got to drive around Callaway Gardens with my little sister, and say goodbye to some places I'm really gonna miss now that I'm home and can't visit anymore. 


Cue the beginning of a VEEEERY long road trip. 13 hours. 13 and 1/2. YUP. Still. It was pretty party hardy :P 

Well, we get home late that Monday night and the best friend Rachel makes an appearance at the house, which is quite lovely :) The next few days go off without a hitch...except by the next few days I mean the next 12 or so hours. Tuesday afternoon, little brother Matthew is chasing (edit: closely following) bigger little brother Daniel, and Daniel shuts door on little brother's foot. All good....except for now Matthew's toe is squished at a very strange angle. 


Yup. Little brother's got a broken toe :) BUT! This doesn't stop him from playing and BEASTING in his baseball game the next day!! Matthew's team, the Orioles, are headed for the Pony League Championship...after whomping the Braves 14 to 7 last night. All played on a recovering toe. PROUD OLDER SISTER RIGHT HERE.

And all of this PALES in comparison to the adventure that me and Trisha went on last night trying to get to Mike Kendall's graduation in the Woodlands :D To make a very very long story short, my TomTom might be a liar. That occasionally likes taking me down Houston side streets. And across highways. And the wrong way up very confusing loops. 

BUT! We made it to the graduation, and were rewarded with some good quality time with friends that have been missed GREATLY in the year since we've seen them :)

So now I'm settled back at home, and so far the distance hasn't been COMPLETELY unbearable. I'm obviously still alive :P Which is rather impressive considering the current state of my room....settling back into the routine of cleaning & trying to unpack & reposition my life from the last 9 months. My room is GETTING clean....but currently it looks kind of like this...


Everything gets worse before it gets better? The hour is darkest just before dawn? What doesn't kill us makes us stronger? 

Week one down....Summer 2012 to go :)