A few days ago my mother and I trekked briefly around the state that is home to some of the people who are dearest to me. Where prior to my great trip around Indiana my head had been filled with nothing but thoughts of me holding little African babies and praying over people I had only just met, there are now thoughts of sadness and longing as well. My main reason for going was to say goodbye to the beautiful people who have become my family at and around Anderson University. This year the majority of my friends will be continuing on with their (what would have been my) senior year, a year that will be unparalleled and life changing for them! A year that I will not be there for.
But let me backtrack a bit so that you may see that my delight in these people is justified, and so that you may also become acquainted with some of the people who have helped shape my life and my faith.
There is a group of girls that became best friends my freshman year and have stayed close over the last few years as they gradually grow, inviting more and more beautiful women to be part of their personal lives. It is no secret that I longed to connect with these girls and be invited into their lives, which were nothing short of thrilling and glamorous looking to those of us who were outsiders. This last year I lived across the hall from some of these ladies and was able to squeeze into their living room (which was much more homely than my own) and also into their friendship. This extravagant friendship that I had frequently stalked on facebook was nothing compared to how they functioned in reality! They weren't "just another friend group", they were a sisterhood, and I had become part of it. We studied together, we procrastinated studying together, we laughed, cried, ate, slept, prayed together! These are the friendships that you wait your entire life to have, and here I am at 21 having more of them than I could have dreamed of. When I was in Anderson saying goodbye just a few short days ago, these girls surrounded me in a "cinnamon role" of love and tears and prayed over me and my upcoming year, covering me with a love that I know I will never forget. I love these women, only 337 more days until I see them.
L-R: Kristina, Mikyla, Me, Meghan Kayla
Jess(J-Hatch), Brooke, Kelsi
There is another collection of people at my school who I inexplicably found myself becoming part of late last year. This gaggle of incredibly good looking people who look like they belong on the cover of some obscure college film are now some of my good to best friends. While they may be less "weird" than the girls, they are just as impressive in their lifestyle. Never before have I met people with such passion and commitment to faith and to life in general. These folks have taught me about real genuine service and joy. Everything that I am wants to spend too much time on this couch with these people, I miss them too much and love them even more.
L-R: TJ, Chad, Micah, Meghan, Ajudah, Brandon
Justin, Me, Kristina, Carrie, Kelsi
Well, now that I am openly weeping at the idea of being gone from these children for a year, I want to tell you about the excitement that has ruled my days and is now just a thought away from overpowering my sadness and consuming my being. I have had many sappy lovey-dovey conversations with the people I have just told you about which center around the lack of satisfaction that we feel in regards to being far far far​ away from one another for such a long time. But every single time we talk about this, the conversation always ends with hope. "I don't know why God would enmesh our lives for such a wonderful but short period of time just to rip us apart, but I know that this is his will and that everything will be fine" "I don't want to be apart, but I know that He is perfect and his plans are good" "His journey for our respective lives is so much better than anything we could dream up on our own!" So these people who have allowed me to experience and live amongst love and joy for the past year have now also encouraged me to thrive as I enter into this new season of my life. I am obsessed with these people and I'm sure they'll show up in my blogs again in the future!
Tune into my next blog for the second half of my Indiana experience: The Geriatric Tour
