I started my 23rd year with a long day of interviewing for grad school. It turned out to be the longest, most tiring interview out of all of them. It also turned out to be worth it, since it was an interview for the school I now attend as a first year Counseling Psychology doctoral student. Because I planned to be at interviews all day, my expectations were very low. I didn't expect anyone I was around to know it was my birthday, and none of the people who knew it was my birthday would have access to me. So I was delighted when my parents called me internationally to wish me happy birthday, as I was being driven to campus. And the day ended with ice cream and a good conversation with my host, who is now my roommate!
In my 23rd year God provided for me greatly. He got me accepted at one school, so I would know where to go. He affirmed me in his plan for me by giving me a housing offer from my roommate, the very same day I decided to go to the program. He also gave me funding through an assistantship two days later. He had me invited to go to a church at an interview, so that I would want to check out the sister church in the town I ended up in. And that church has made all the difference here. God graduated me from college. He gave me rest during the summer. He gave me a life in a new town. He gave me a road bike AND a car.
There were many hard things. I struggled to learn how to rest. I had to cut back and give up activities I enjoyed. I had to say goodbye to many, many friends, and a community in which I was known and respected. I had to come to terms with unfulfilled desires. I had to give up a boy, which proved difficult in a different way than with my only other boyfriend. I struggled, and still struggle with making friends in a new place. I experienced loneliness in a deeper way than ever before. I worked hard at school. Satan tried to wrest my hopes away from me, but God wouldn't let them be swept away completely.
I learned about the power of the Holy Spirit and about God's voice, in a way that increased my desire, humbled my self-image, and yet led to more frustration with a lesson on patience and perseverance. I learned that God wants to be my best friend.
What has God been teaching you lately?
In my 23rd year God provided for me greatly. He got me accepted at one school, so I would know where to go. He affirmed me in his plan for me by giving me a housing offer from my roommate, the very same day I decided to go to the program. He also gave me funding through an assistantship two days later. He had me invited to go to a church at an interview, so that I would want to check out the sister church in the town I ended up in. And that church has made all the difference here. God graduated me from college. He gave me rest during the summer. He gave me a life in a new town. He gave me a road bike AND a car.
There were many hard things. I struggled to learn how to rest. I had to cut back and give up activities I enjoyed. I had to say goodbye to many, many friends, and a community in which I was known and respected. I had to come to terms with unfulfilled desires. I had to give up a boy, which proved difficult in a different way than with my only other boyfriend. I struggled, and still struggle with making friends in a new place. I experienced loneliness in a deeper way than ever before. I worked hard at school. Satan tried to wrest my hopes away from me, but God wouldn't let them be swept away completely.
I learned about the power of the Holy Spirit and about God's voice, in a way that increased my desire, humbled my self-image, and yet led to more frustration with a lesson on patience and perseverance. I learned that God wants to be my best friend.
What has God been teaching you lately?
Okay, I tried, but I just couldn't let this one go by. The day you turned 22, you completed your 22nd year, and began your 23rd year. That's where I am right now - I'm 22, but progressing rapidly through my 23rd year, and I don't get to call myself 23 years old until I've completed it. Math, seriously.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you had to drop some of your activities, but honestly, how many times is God going to teach you to rest and make time to take care of yourself? It seems like you should be an expert after undergrad.
God has been teaching me patience as well, and to trust that, even though I don't what I want to do with the rest of my life, he's leading me in the right direction. He's also teaching me that feeling lonely is just my subconscious's way of telling me it's time for me and God to go out for root beer floats. It helps me make light of my cares and worries, which in any case are nothing compared to God's works and plans.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
Happy belated birthday! Hope it was a blast!
Fine Andrew I fixed it...and I really did know that, I just didn't think about it when I was writing... :)
ReplyDeleteAnd it's good to hear from you!