When Everyone is Different But Nothing Has Changed

I’ll admit, I was nervous about the girls coming this weekend. Part of you thinks, “What if it’s awkward?” Out of our “group,” I’m the only one still in college. The rest of them are in, or at least have had post-grad job experience in what they want to do. They’re adults in the real world, and sometimes I feel like a kid stuck at school. So, yeah, I was concerned. But, the moment I get a call and in the middle I hear, “Ok, so we’re turning at the light,” I was pretty sure it was going to be a great weekend. And it was. It felt like almost every fall weekend from the last 4 years, except that everyone was in my living room. It was weird not going to Em & Chels’ apartment, since it was their place for 2 straight years. We talked about being adults and doing what you know God wants you to do. I realized that just because someone lives "2", 3, or 10 hours away, doesn’t mean they’re gone. I’m actually grateful for facebook and blogspot and text messaging, because we can keep up with each other and not worry about having an awkward run-in at homecoming or not having a clue where everyone ends up. After cultivating such a deep friendship with them for 4 years, yeah…it stinks that we don’t live 15 minutes apart anymore, and I don’t see them 3 or more times a week. But, we all knew there would be a day this would happen. Honestly, saying goodbye in May was much harder than saying goodbye when they left on Sunday. In May, part of me was wondering if we would actually see each other “soon.” Actually, part of me wondered if we would actually all be together again. (btw…if we could have coordinated kidnapping Kim, we totally would have…it was weird without her). Now that we know seeing each other is feasible, I’m actually feeling a little better than I have in a while. I know it’ll probably be once a semester, or even just once a year, that we’re “all together”, but that’s better than thinking “never.” And I have a feeling a certain person from Richmond is too in love with baseball (and weekends with baseball and hockey) to stay away too long. :)

The Past 36 Hours

In the past 36 hours:
My best friend’s car broke down on I-64W headed back to LU.
We were going down the interstate when “Daisy” started making a clicking noise. Kim couldn’t accelerate…Daisy started loosing speed…as we were pulling off, Daisy stopped running. Thankfully, we had already picked up her mom at the Richmond Airport. It wasn’t raining, sleeting, snowing, blazing hot, or frigid cold. It was daylight. There really weren’t THAT many cars on the interstate.
We were on the side of the interstate for 2 hours…and the tow truck couldn’t find us. Five cars and a trucker stopped to check on us. Two guys looked at the car…the first one thought it was the timing belt…the second one said her car doesn’t have a timing belt. We called an RA to give her a head’s up that we would probably need someone to come get us. While we were waiting, we watched caterpillars try to cross the road, only to meet their fate when cars came by.
The tow truck found us eventually, said he had no idea what was wrong with the car, and took us to a shop. However, it was Saturday, and the shop was closed, so her car is still in Charlottesville. She is planning to leave on Tuesday to go home to Texas. We called our RA again, and she and Heidi (who will be my SLD partner/Room mate next year) started towards us…
So, we were in Charlottesville…and none of us are familiar with it. Thankfully, I was borrowing my parents’ GPS for the trip, and we had it with us, so we looked up a restaurant that was supposedly 0.8 miles away…and we started walking…with a GPS…through the neighborhoods of downtown Charlottesville.
When we got to the road The Frizz (the GPS) said the Subway was on…it wasn’t there…Thankfully, the Charlottesville Transit Station and Visitor’s Center was on that road…and it was open. So, we asked the Visitor’s Center where it was…and they told us we could take the FREE trolley to the Omni, go down McIntyre…and it would be there…we did…and it was…
The GPS Audrey and Heidi had borrowed apparently wasn’t good with directions, and was continually loosing satellite reception, so it took them a little longer than planned to get to us…but they did get to us, and we got back to LU at 10pm…5 hours later than we had planned…

We had the Annual Leadership Appreciation and Dedication Service.
This is where the emotions are jumbled. During this service, we recognize the Praise Band/RDs/RAs/SLDs/PLs for 07-08 and Dedicate the 08-09 team. I was perfectly fine until it was time for the SLD part. We (the current SLDs) were told to stand with and pray for those on our hall who will be new SLDs next year. I can’t describe the feeling I had when Heidi, Christy, and Emily N. stood up. Everything that happened on our hall this year was by the hand and grace of God, and it was so heartwarming to see two of “my” freshmen and good friends, and one of my closest friends, stand up to “Receive the torch.” Praying for them with Sam was so hard, as Sam and I realized that our ministry together is coming to an end…letting go of Sam’s hand was one of the hardest things I’ve done in a long time…if ever.
However, walking from one side of the Vines to the other, with Heidi, towards our PL team, was incredible. Our team is already bonding and preparing for next year. I love all of those girls and I am so excited to work with them in ministry.
After the service, as Sam, Erica, Audrey and I were taking pictures of the “Core 4” and just hanging out, not wanting to leave, I flashed back to this time last year…a time when Sam and I barely knew each other, and I was having trouble remembering the names of my PLs. I don’t know what our hall would have been like without them…I do know that God placed those girls on our hall for a purpose, as He has placed the team for next year. My sadness that this year is over cannot be masked by the excitement for next, but I know in August, we will still be friends, each ministering in the way God has called us to.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5

Childlike Faith

I was hanging out with my 7-year-old cousin, McKenzie, this past weekend on campus. We were in the dorm, and she was telling Kim and me how she got saved (YAY!!) back in October. We asked her if she had any questions...and this was one (out of 4 or 5) of them...

McKenzie: "So, how could Jesus be God in heaven and still be on earth?"

Kim: "Well, that is something that many people way smarter than i am have been arguing over for years, but i think--"

McKenzie: "I think it's cause He's God, right? So, He can do anything He wants, and He can be in more than one place at a time, cause He's God."

Kim: "...well, yeah...that's pretty much all there is to it..."