First of all, my last day of classes and last day of work at the college were one day apart. It was so weird. I loved working there. The people in that office were always kind, encouraging, honest, and just plain fun to be around. I learned so much while I was there, and will definitely miss some of the routine tasks that seemed so menial, yet sometimes made my day. And all the people who filtered in and out of that office.... oooh, how I love being around people. I love to see so many different faces, personalities, ages, and I love to be able to greet them with a smile and cheerful energy. I miss it so much already.
For Mother's Day I headed across state with my parents and sister. We saw both sets of grandparents and many other family members. I was wonderful :) I love getting home every now and then, especially for occasions that honor family. Somehow my dad, sister and I kept mom's gift under the radar (she didn't have a clue!! Put that in the record book as a first!) We ordered her a gorgeous ring with my brother, sister, and I's birthstones on it, and it's so pretty! The day before that, we had Caleb's family over to celebrate with a cookout, bonfire, and some s'mores. It was fun. (I'm beginning to like hosting things here more than I expected ;)
My last day of working at the church was last week also. Crazy, I know, it seems so weird. I miss it so much. I loved making the documents, looking stuff up, and helping with whatever was needed. But, we now have an interim youth pastor who is doing great, and two summer interns who I'm sure will do the same. As hard as it was for me to be done, I think it was right timing. "For everything there is a season.." (Ecclesiastes 3:1a), and I think my season was over. I was burned out, my head spun, and I didn't have the same passion and drive that I had when I first started. I guess its good that the position was only an internship. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved what I did, learned so much more than I expected, and greeted each new task/opportunity/challenge with the energy and faith that I could, and it was amazing. But, I think it was time to move on to what's next (that I don't even know about yet..).
While on the subject of church, I'll touch on youth group. The high school and middle school groups split the beginning of this month. Everything is going great, and both groups are growing. Caleb and I are working with the high school group, but still miss the middle school age students. They are all amazing, and I'm glad we have the opportunity to minister to them. Many of our high school students graduated (close to ten), and we had the opportunity to be at the graduation where most of them received their diploma. The smiles, the sighs of relief, the tears, the relieved laughs.... it was so cool to see them achieve that accomplishment.
Well, Monday was Memorial Day. We joined many people in this country who were remembering those who served. It was especially full of memories for me, as I poured over so many good memories of my uncle. In 2004 he gave his life for this country while serving in the U.S. Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. There isn't a day that goes by that he isn't missed. I still remember his voice. I remember shooting archery with him.. the 3-D shoots, the sleep-overs with my cousins, and so much more... I'm thankful for him serving, my dad, my grandpa, my cousins, and everyone else who serves and has served this country. They all hold a special place in my heart. Well, while observing one memorial service, a parade, and then another memorial service, we saw many things. We saw men and women who were old and young take part in the services, families who had lost loved ones, families standing beside their enlisted and veteran loved ones, and enlisted and veteran individuals who proudly took part in these services with all the vigor they seemed to have. It was beautiful. And so was the support from the community. One thing that especially stuck out to me was this: as we were leaving the last service, we walked past a veteran who was being helped walk by a person on each side of him. He was old, brittle, and slightly bent over. He was in uniform; greens, and a hat that happened to be quite decorated with pins and medals. He may have talked and walked slow, but he was quick to smile. I don't know what memories the years of his life and service hold, but I do know that his smile was contagious. As someone shouted a greeting to him; he turned slightly as his eyes sought the face that matched the voice, his arm raised and his hand waved, and the ever-apparent smile never left his face as he replied to who seemed to be an old friend. His eyes were bright, and as he stood there unsteadily waiting for someone to pull the car up, I caught the joy that was radiating from this man. My eyes welled with tears as I walked past, wishing I could find words to greet him, but failing. I continued to walk, and then turned to take one more look. He didn't used to be so thin, his face didn't used to have so many wrinkles, he used to stand straight, and I would bet that his smile has been the same for his whole life. Isn't it amazing what you can learn in fifteen seconds? I can still see him standing there. I am thankful for his service, thankful that he didn't lose his joy, and thankful that he passed just a bit of it to me.
It's hard to top that story, and I'm not even going to try to do so. But, I would love to meet him in person. It would be so cool if I were to get a job, and he were to walk in. I don't know what job is in store for me yet, I'm trusting that it'll be shown to me in HIS time (of course), but I do hope it's working with people in some realm. I'm awed by experiences like the one in the previous paragraph, and hope one day I could be the (woman) who is radiating that same joy and makes an impact on someone. And I hope to tell them that it's because of my Jesus <3
Not much has been happening here lately. Caleb's working, I take our dog, Honey, for a walk almost every day, I run errands and clean, I go visit family, and I try to spend time wisely... but take up enough of it so I'm not bored :)
That said, the only thing I know of that is coming next is our FIRST ANNIVERSARY! Our wedding day seems like just yesterday. We've had ups and downs, but I'm thankful for all of it; everything that has made us stronger. As far as celebrating, we're not sure of plans yet. We'll either head north for a day, or across state. We'll see what happens, we just want to spend the day together.
Welll I think we're caught up. I hope to be better at writing from now on :)
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