Sorry about the long time in between posts! The last part of the summer semester really took off and before I knew it I was on my way to California to visit for a little break from classes. I just got back from California yesterday and can hardly describe what a blessing it was to be there in the presence of such amazing friends.
When I'm busy with school and all the daily activities that come with being an adult (haha) I find that I can sometimes focus on the stressful, overwhelming, and seemingly never-ending tasks instead of being thankful for the little things. I have recently been pondering and learning how important thankfulness is as I continue this adventure through PA school. In the book Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer he explains how important thankfulness is to Christian community. He says, "We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things?" Bonhoeffer is directly addressing thankfulness in Christian community, but I took this one step further and it really began to impact me while in California.
As I stepped away from my cute little house tucked away in beautiful Marietta, hopped on a plane, and entered into a week of rest and fellowship I began to become overwhelmed with all the "little things" that I should be daily thankful for. These things that I take for granted every morning when I wake up, drink my tea, and pray for some "big things" that I would love God to do in my life. God is doing so many big and little (really I feel like they should all be considered big things because God is personally at work in my life, how cool is that?!?) in my life and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to step out of the Marietta bubble for a week, visit wonderful friends, and look at my life from the outside. I was able to sit with wonderful people, share stories, talk about life, and laugh so much...ahh the little things. I was able to talk to my family without the stress of school and feel so incredibly blessed by them. My dad is such an incredible inspiration to me after all he has been through with the accident and I honestly cannot fathom life without him. My dad has given me such a wonderful example of what it means to be unconditionally loved by a father and for that I am so so thankful.
It's through all different life experiences that I learn more about myself, more about God, and more about how to impact the world for Him. I am sorry that this post is a little bit of a version of thanksgiving in August, haha, but I am taken back by all that God has done throughout my life and even through this small time away from the hustle and bustle of school. We each have so many things to be thankful for, I hope you are able to take some time and be thankful for all the "little things."
Alrighty...off to pick out my outfit for the first day of class...more updates soon!
