Hey there! I guess it’s been a while since I last posted! It’s about time that I update the blogging world on my current status. To be quite honest, though, this entry might seem a little bleak. In case anyone has wondered what I’ve been up to the past month or so, it’s been work….and work. I’ve been working for the YMCA and Target, the latter of which I’ve been a bit unhappy with lately. That’s another blog post though…
I must say that not going back to Olivet this fall has proven to be more difficult than I expected it would. I so wish I could join all those who have been and are returning there, even as I write this. It would be nice to see my Olivet friends again. Of course, it truly is nice to see everyone from home. It’s just…Olivet has been my home for the past four years. I experienced the independence that comes with being away from home (albeit living with awesome roomies each year!), I met SOOO many wonderful/brilliant people and professors and, perhaps more than anything else, my relationship with God deepened in so many ways. Through classes, teachers, friends, and College Church, Olivet became an environment that fostered my relationship with the Lord. And for that I am truly grateful.
I do realize that I am out of the “Olivet Bubble” now, and that “all things religious” (for lack of better words) will no longer be spoon fed to me. And although I’m confident that I began to own my faith while I was in high school, rather than live off the faith of my parents or others, being in the “bubble” really helped cultivate that faith. In other words, Olivet made it easy. While this could be a negative thing, I consider it a blessing.
I know God is omnipresent. He’s not just at Olivet; He’s everywhere! (Praise the Lord!) I don’t know how else to put it other than that my heart is saddened I won’t be returning there this fall…or to school period…which is SO unbelievably weird! And here’s the other thing: I’ve gone to school since I was four…that’s 17 years of my life! And I’ve always enjoyed learning. With the jobs I’m currently working at, though, I feel like I’m only using 10% of my brain capability. The motivation to challenge myself intellectually is little.
BUT…There is a light at the end of this tunnel.
I guess the “sweet” part of this symphony is that I was blessed to experience the past four years (which definitely had their ups and downs). I am reminded of a quote that was on my mother’s calendar a few years back that said, “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” Looking back I am reminded of God’s faithfulness, love, and power. I’ve seen where He’s taken me, and it encourages me to know that He can and will take me there (and beyond!) again. I know I must move forward.
So, where does this all put the World Race? Well…I can’t wait for it!! I’m so excited that I will literally get to go overseas to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to live in community once again (woot woot!), and to fall deeper in love with God. Until January, though, it’s like I’m in limbo – of course, not in the locational sense (which I don’t believe in anyway, lol), but rather as an in between stage. The Spirit keeps reminding me to glorify God wherever I’m at, though, even if it’s during a point where I feel dry or when I feel like I’m not making a difference here in Moline, Illinois.
So. To put this blog in a nutshell: I am burdened but still hopeful.
The Lord of yesterday is the same Lord of today and tomorrow. It is because of this that my heart will choose to say “Lord, blessed be Your name.”
