HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

"The old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

If I had an overall summary of this past year, I'd say that it was definitely one of the most up and down years of my life. I woke up at 12:03 on New Years last year to miss the party with friends and I was completely bummed about it. Unfortunately, that night was great in comparison to the following months. I fell into a pit of darkness. I made many mistakes and hid them from the people closest to me. I distanced myself from the ones I loved, including God. I didn't think the year could possibly get better and it was only February. I knew how to act around people to make them think I was doing great. But I was lying to everyone around me. I can't quite remember when God intervened to help me out and give me hope of a better future, but He did.

At the end of my second year of college, I was asked to work at NMC. I am so grateful for the people and environment I was surrounded with. They are truly amazing. Each one of them showed me love and grace like I had never seen before.

Through my time working at the church, I have gained some wonderful friends, mentors, and opportunities. Because of those people, I have gained new perspectives on life and who I want to become and what I want to be doing. Through them, I knew what a life filled with Christ looked like and I knew that I was missing it. I was reborn in Him and made a huge step in getting baptized at the end of the summer. It was the greatest moment of my life. Not only did I get to show my love for God in front of my friends and my fellow Christ followers, but I got to show it in front of my entire family, who were right there to support me the whole way.

There were huge points of growth going into baptism weekend. For my second year, I was a leader at the Junior High Summer Camp. Only this year I was responsible for alot of the behind the scenes stuff. That's alot! I had no idea what went into these things until I started working at the church. The stress and overall duties were extremely overwhelming but it was so awesome to see the finished product and to see the students grow closer to their Lord and Savior because of something I had helped with. It's a good feeling.


A few weeks after NMC's Summer Camp, I got the chance to go on a little trip with Rose and the girls to Brown City Camp in MI. What a weird experience that was. Chris is kinda a big deal there and that was new. But during those few days, I got a lot closer to my bestest friend Allison, I got more perspective on God and how He wants us to live, and I got to get away from the craziness of work and home.

Soon after that, I got another escape from home though. My mom, her boyfriend, and myself took a week long trip to Europe. It was the second time I had been there, but it was such an experience. I got to get closer to my mom, which was huge. We've been so distant lately that it was good for us to get away from the normal distractions and busyness of home to just talk. I valued every second with her and I'm so grateful for such a loving mother.

After returning from Europe, I entered the most difficult semester of school I've had yet. My major went from business management to "Uhh...not sure anymore" in a matter of weeks. I realized that doing anything remotely close to Accounting, Statistics, and Calculus was definitely not how I was going to live my life. I struggled with passing each class. This was in part due to the fact that I was also working over 40 hours a week not including my volunteer duties each week. I made a tough decision to take time off from Starbucks. I continued working at the church, but my low grades stayed the same. Even when I had time to study and do assignments, I would find something else to keep me busy. My mindset turned very apathetic in reference to schoolwork. I knew that my major would change, so I didn't care if I didn't pass classes that were only required for business majors. Needless to say, it was no surprise to see my grades so low at the end of the semester. Even now, a week before the new semester, I still don't know what direction I want to take. Currently I'm planning to cut my class hours in an attempt to figure out my future and where I'm supposed to be. We'll see.

Finals week was a blur. I had too much to look forward to! Winter Retreats, trips down south, time with friends and family, and outings with my small group. School fell to last priority and like I said, it showed in my grades. But the things I looked forward to, had finally come. In just a few days, I had worked my fingers and my brain to their maximum capacity. I was beat! And what better way to get away to rest? A Junior High Winter Retreat of course! HA. So, four days of awesomeness to go with my weariness was just what I got! It was a great time and I'll post later about it, but God was totally on the move. And it was incredible to watch.

And so it must all come to an end. I managed to stay awake to see the ball drop and celebrate with friends. If that's any indication on how the upcoming year will be, then I'd say it looks like it will be a great one.