Right now I'm waiting for my statlab web page to load so I can study for a stats exam.. :/ Stats is going okay, I think I'm finally understanding it. Comp.... oh comp... :/ We'll not visit that touchy subject for a while. (I'm not avoiding it.. just avoiding talking about it cuz it's evil.)
There are a lot of things on my mind.. not really profound things.. but, perhaps, worth sharing.
Back in April I posted about all my summer dreams and goals as I was anxious to be on break instead of writing papers and attending classes and lectures everyday.
Being halfway into the summer and halfway done... I can say that while most of my goals aren't quite what I dreamed them to be, it has been an absolutely dreamy summer! My miles haven't reached much beyond a little over 200 and I've given up running in the mornings for now as my mornings are filled with my quiet times and other things that seem to take up time far too easily.
But!! Some of my summer goal plantings are starting to produce a harvest of JOY beyond what I could of ever imagined! How I LOVE the amount of people around me who love the Lord!! Honestly, I can't remember the last time I had so many believers around me with the same goal in mind. Serving people as a way of serving the Lord is one of the most joy-producing things there is (at least in my own few experiences) and after half a summer of doing just that, I feel somewhat like God has turned a dry river bed into a fountain. Not that I was incredibly upset and negative prior to starting work with The Bridge, but I was for sure dry; A little empty and a little dead.
My heart, in the last month and a half, has become more alive than I thought it could and I think my passion for people and for serving the Lord has increased as well. I think if I could have only asked the Lord for one thing to come out of this summer, I would have been asking for joy (I always do). And I know that sounds a little bit selfish, perhaps, but I'm come to learn that as a child of God, our birthright is joy. Often times I think I'm doing something wrong in my walk if I don't have joy, but this summer I've been learning about the importance of trials to strengthen our faith that will produce joy later.
It's funny how I've grew up in a farming community all 17 years of my life before I moved out and I never realized something about rain. I mean, believers refer to our life trials as storms a lot of the time. There are some storms that are greater than others and cause more damage and hardship than others. There are little storms that cause the clouds to be dark and foreboding, but only for a time, and the rain causes mud and, perhaps, will ruin your outdoor picnic plans, but it does not cause much damage and can be pleasantly enjoyed from one's house with a cup of hot tea and a good book (Or a nap).
These storms, the rains, they're not only necessary for the plants, but they can be needed. If the plants or farmers go too long without rain, that's not good. Just like in life, we can't want our lives to go too long without a trial or difficult time or else our leaves will dry up, our roots will whither and our growth will cease. There are sometimes it seems that life is just starting to go smoothly and I've finally cleared all the difficult hurdles and so life should go well for a while. Of course, that is when the next trial comes along and rocks my boat and I end up asking God, "Why why WHY am I going through something hard AGAIN??" It makes a little more sense to me now that I've been around all these farmers and farmers' wives who are always wanting it to rain so that the crops will grow and there will be things to harvest in the fall. Being in the city, I've been away from all the farmer analogies, but I've missed them all greatly.
Another great thing I experienced last night: STARS!! I've always LOVED the stars. I haven't seen them in a while as Iowa City only allows you to see 5 or 6 on a good night. I think I've tried to see the stars so many times in the last few years without much luck that I've sort of given up on looking up at the sky at nighttime. But, at about 11 last night my father invited me to come see Scorpio, which is one of the few constellations I can find by myself. All the lights were off in the house and the yard was so dark I couldn't see the people who were in the middle of it and was depended on my ears to find them. The sky was SO brilliantly full of stars that I was quite tempted to set up my bed outside and stare at them all night. They were BEAUTIFUL! :) It was a God moment. I felt loved when I saw those stars and it was delightful.
Another joy I've recently had was a trip to Colorado with my family to see one of my dear cousins marry his bride. Of course we took advantage of the opportunity to interact with all the cousins as much as possible as we are all quite close and delight in each other's company.
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| Siblings and cousin, Sherlin, at the Botanical gardens |
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Ferns!
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| The Kohls love to learn (most of them anyways) I think they spent 15 or 20 minutes next to this giant globe and listen to the museum worker share all sorts of interesting facts about various planets. It was difficult to pull them away to go to the gems and minerals section... but eventually they were coaxed to leave (actually I think it was because the display needed to be shut down for the day).
With only a few weekends left in the summer, I think I've got them all booked for adventures and delightful memories. I've only been home for a total of 4 weekends and I think that's the best I can do considering my free spirit and desire to pack my summer to maximum fullest full it could be. The trick in managing to write all my comp papers in the meantime :/
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