New Year’s Eve we spent with our two friends, Abby and Matt. I met
Abby when I was out in Chicago for the summer where I was a camp
counselor. Now she lives here with her hubby. Small world! Anyway,
we went to Texas Roadhouse (yum!) and then went to our house to play
Scene It, Friends edition. We opened the bubbly (ok, ok, it was
sparkling cider), toasted and cheered the new year in, said good night,
they went home, we went to sleep :) It was a fun, relaxed evening.
Here is a picture of us at midnight!
Back to work today after two glorious weeks off. Man, did I enjoy
those. Especially the last week, because it went by soooo slow, and I
accomplished a lot. I painted some rooms in my house, which turned out
beautiful and perfect in colors. I spent a lot of quality time with
friends (which sadly doesn’t happen much during working months). I
slept in almost every single day. I read a lot. We watched a lot of
movies. We ate out a lot. I feel so relaxed and refreshed!!
Today was a good day. It feels good to be back. I really enjoy
what I do, and the start of a semester always has a freshness to it.
Everyone has a more lively step, a more ready smile, renewed
commitment, a new muster of courage, and inspiration to try new
ideas.
I’ve always said second semester goes by extremely fast, and I hope that holds true this year. I mean, I’m always looking forward to my next break. But this is a year where I am on survival mode half the time, because that it just how the cards played out this year, and I want it over as soon as possible. Next year I will be at one school only, full time, and that is going to be fabulous. I am really, really looking forward to that.
I have had some difficult circumstances in previous months, and it has been hard to accept that this is where God wants me. I keep asking him, why couldn’t you have done it differently, done it my way? God is showing me that in EVERYTHING I am to give thanks. He is showing me how to forgive on His terms, and that I am to pray for those who persecute me and love them as Christ does. This is not an easy task. Nor am I a very good listener some days. But with my submission and prayers come forgiveness, compassion and love that could not have come from doing things my way. It is a constant struggle, but when is it not?
So, I’ll end with a quote from John Piper, from his book “Life as a Vapor”.
“Life is short and eternity is long. Very long. It is a long time to regret a wasted life.”