My roommate Kelsey and Myself
My roomies lil sister
My roomie and her lil sister
The group walking to thru the park
This is me waiting for one of the rides........yikes.......this one was really nice and I
Kathy, lil sister, and my roomies oldest triplet
The group on a roller coaster named Wildfire
One of the loops finishing
The group.....
Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to
new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom.
Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon.
They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints
on our hearts, and we are never ever the same.
- Flavia Weedn –
Many people will walk in
and out of your life,
but only true friends will leave
footprints in your heart.
- Eleanor Roosevelt –
Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet
when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
- Author Unknown –
Friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet
when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.
- Author Unknown –
Side by side or miles apart,
good friends are always
close to the heart.
- Author Unknown –
Friends
There's nothing as nice as someone who shares,
your laughter, your secrets, your wishes and cares,
someone who's there through your good times and tears,
who stays by your side as your friend through the years.
- Autymn Skillings –
The Gift Of Knowing You
There are gifts of many treasures
For both the young and old,
From the tiniest little trinkets
To great boxes filled with gold.
But, put them all together
And they could not stand in lieu,
Of the greatest gift of all
The gift of knowing you.
When your times are filled with troubles
Sadness, grief, or even doubt,
When all those things you planned on
Just aren't turning out.
Just turn and look behind you
From the place at which you stand,
And look for me through the shadows
And reach out for my hand.
I will lift from you your burden
And cry for you your tears,
Bear the pain of all your sorrows
Though it may be for a thousand years.
For in the end I would be happy
To have helped you start anew,
It's a small price to pay
For the gift of knowing you.
- Dave Stout –
Howdy Ya’ll,
It has been forever and a day since I last wrote and told everybody what has been happening. Life definitely is different since coming to college. I feel as if I am always on the go, which is true, normal for me, yet different.
Last year was full of many changes and challenges. Adjusting to living back in the dorms was more difficult then I thought. I like being able to have my own space. Brushing your teeth with several other girls or talking as you use the bathroom definitely does not make life private. But another thing like being able to foster relationships with the girls on the floor was such a blessing. My first year of college is something I will never forget and more than glad to be finished with. This last semester I took 22 credit hours, worked 30hrs a week between my on-campus job and off campus job, battled with my health as normal, found out a dear, dear sweet childhood friend of mine has lymphoma, and struggled greatly with my faith. I would not say it was miserable and unbearable, but whenever I said it can’t get worse then this, something else happened. Though I was struggling in my walk, I can proudly say that the Lord gave me the strength and endurance to balance all the things on my plate.
I want to share something with ya’ll. It is not something that I have shared with very many people. In fact, my mother just found out about it a few weeks ago. It may have been noticed by a discerning few, but I learned so much about myself this year. I struggle with feeling emotions. I usually ignore that I have them and box them up. It was hard starting to feel pain again, but well, worth it. Through that the Lord was able to work on allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of people. That was one of the most challenging things I have down in a long time. More importantly, it was my faith that the Lord worked on. I had gotten to the point where I wanted to completely turn my back on the Lord and have nothing to do with Him. Not something that you want to come out and say. I barely admitted it to myself. I had become the master of avoiding things. It was easy being busy; all you had to do was work so much you don’t have time to deal with anything. I did homework on the fly as I ran to class; my grades definitely show that fact. Truthfully, I am very thankful I was at the point. As much as I wanted to throw in the towel, something kept nagging me. I participated in a bible study last fall and was invited to be apart of a discipleship study this spring. The Lord kept pursuing me though I wanted to turn my back on Him. His faithfulness and love are not contingent on my acting faithfully. It is all based on His love. One thing that was constant and a burning thorn in my flesh was the topic of trust. I have always struggled with trust; never been anything that has come naturally to me. People can trust me but I would not trust them. No matter what the lesson was something always went back to a trust issue. Even outside of the bible study things were pointing to trust. People that I knew, but didn’t know what I was struggling with somehow brought it up. I do not think God could have been anymore clear that this was an issue I needed to work deal with. It all boiled down to the fact that I do not trust people because I do not trust God. How can you not trust the creator of the universe? He only wants the best for you. He sacrificed His one and only son for me, but I could not trust Him. I knew He wanted what was best for me, but I only believed that for other people, not something for me. It feels a little difficult admitting this but it is true. I didn’t trust God and I wanted nothing to do with Him. But the Lord in His great love continued loving me and chasing after me. I know that no matter what I will be continuously loved. Needless to say, I am taking it one day at a time, but I know that I can trust the Lord. He has reasons for the things that happen in life, He has a future already planned for me, and more importantly, He loves me unconditionally!!!
I would like to ask for pray for something that I have been dealing with for an extended period of time. I have been in constant pain for many months. I have a high pain tolerance, but my patience and coping skills are next to nothing at this point. I was placed on some medicine to see if it would help any, but it has just aggravated it and altered my disposition somewhat. It has been a challenging not allowing my irritation with what is going on to spill over onto other people and there have been times that I have not succeeded in that. For those of you who have dealt with me and handled me gracefully – THANK YOU!!! Words, cannot express how thankful I am for all the understanding and patience you have had in dealing with me. Oh, I go to the doctor tomorrow to start on seeing what the root cause is.
Now for good news!!! Well, a happier note. Summer is just around the corner. Finals are this week. I am staying here at school and working the summer work program to help pay for my room and board for the next year. I will get to move from the college cafeteria to working in the stain glass shop. For anyone that knows me, they know what a blessing that is for me. Working with my hands is a form of productive therapy; as well as writing (that was newly discovered). I will also be able to use my creative side of my personality. It will be interesting to see how long it will be before something breaks or I burn or cut myself.
So that is life in a nut shell, not really but I could not think of something to say. Life is moving on and I learning to trust. My first year is almost finished just finals to go. I would love to hear from ya’ll or just eat chocolate or cookies! Anytime you are in the area and want to visit, just give me a call.
Hugs, Kisses, and Prayers,
Shasta
