It's remarkable how time flies... not just when you are having fun either ;) Life is just fast! No matter how slow we think it is in the moment, it really will go by so quickly in a blink of an eye if you don't hold on and catch a breath. Since last October/November, so much seemed to have happened but what is worth talking about really? I mean Sarah Jean got married and I was a part of that celebration. Michael and Sarah welcomed James into the world and I got to celebrate that miracle and every day since that little miracle has blessed my life as he has experienced life. He is know standing and crawling and making noises that sounds like words... but boy, does he keep you busy! As I participated in these two momentous occasions, my heart yearned for that for my life and my knees fell to the ground numerous times in communication with God about these subjects. But instead, I kept receiving good news all the way around as other friends shared news of expecting births and celebrating marriages ... and all I could do was rejoice with them because it was such a sweet time in their lives. God and I continued to communicate over this though.... (remember this as I finish the catch up because it will help understand the great news at the bottom)
I also lost a dear friend who lost a dear friend to cancer and as I know she celebrates in Heaven I miss her so dearly, she enriched my life so very much. I also understood what it meant to lose trust in friends, not in a dramatic childish way, but as in life lessons and things happen and people are just different, trust is a fragile thing in my life that can be broken way too easily and I need to be careful with it and who I hand it off to but I also need to have faith that it is okay to trust people... as long as my ultimate trust is in God (because He catches me each time). I also feel like I encountered the devil a few times, I understand temptation and why God says flee from it and walking closely with God will protect you in so many ways.
The Holidays flew by and then the spring came and with it many changes and the urgency that God wanted many other changes to happen. Up until this point, it has been a dry spell of hearing from God, I couldn't hear Him for the life of me... well I just assumed one change would be my job... I constantly thought God wanted me to find a new job, especially because of finances (maybe more me than Him)....but life was just so busy getting ready for summer ministries and going to visit family and for the first time ever, I got to stay in a cabin in the mountains. (My friend Laura's family has a cabin and I went to spend the weekend with them)...it was glorious and coming back to reality was just no fun... I think I am meant to live in Maggie Valley... just saying... AND then the summer and that's when everything changed..........here is the GREAT NEWS!!!
I was officially accepted into the graduate program at Stetson
University (Deland, FL)!! It will be for my Masters in Marriage and
Family Counseling.... so I will TRY to give you a brief overview of the
God story that lead me here... in the last two months (one crazy
summer!)
So I have always toyed with the idea of grad school but I
never found a Masters I was excited to put a lot of work into and i
thought about counseling but I guess I kept doubting myself and i never
found a program to suit me and the schools down here are huge... too
huge for my comfort (small town girl)... so it just never happened... it has been six
crazy years since graduation and I am an Admin Assistant.... well I can
do the job well but it is a very isolated, unsociable job and I just
kept feeling pulled to be out there helping people . Well I kept getting
encouraged by my family here to think about it and I began a bible
study called PLACE (are you serving where God wants you, what are your
strengths, gifts, etc) in May (this summer) and I just began seeking God. I applied
for a few jobs before I ran across this program at Stetson and I just
knew it was the program for me. I emailed them for information and I
was in an interview the next week. During this time, I knew God was
doing something big and I knew that within the next year things would
totally be different etc... but I didn't know how so I just gave a
simple prayer before the interview and the info session... if this is
meant to be let everything fall into place...(keep in mind I am thinking
this is for January admission because it is already the beginning of
June)... by the end of the interview, all my fears were gone, all my
questions were answered, and for the first time in a long time I felt
excited and like this was exactly where I needed to be...From there
until yesterday, it has been a whirlwind... many MANY steps I won't bore
you with... but EVERYTHING fell into place and i got a call yesterday
saying i was unconditionally accepted into the FALL semester and
orientation is August 17th!!!
I have chosen Stetson on purpose. I truly thought
about going to get my degree in biblical counseling but because of what I
want to do with my degree that would not be the best route for me. Ultimately, I want to get into the
Foster Care system and the children's homes and work with the children
and youth there. That's how I want to use my counseling, to help the
hurting children in the state system... to do that I have to be licensed
under the state... actually I will be licensed nationally so I can go
to any state to practice. At the end, I will be certified to go out and
work with the children who need someone to care about them... that has
been my dream since freshman year at CofC... God is being faithful to His
promises... it doesn't get any sweeter than that.
I hope you can see God in this because I
can! I left out some details (I know hard to believe) but I have been
praying over this from the beginning, knowing this was all from God if
it was meant to be ...
Anyway, I am all nervous and excited and all
over the place and it is nice. I still have a lot to figure out and i
think there will be a lot of craziness... i forgot what its like getting
books and stuff and school plus work... yikes... but I know God has my
back and as long as I stay focused on Him I think I may be okay ... and through it all, I am getting the ultimate peace of not being married or having children. I do hope to be married one day, I truly do. To the right guy :) Until then, God is allowing me to pursue my dream and help others along the way :) Stay tuned!
