Going to Canada's Wonderland and places of the like, aren't necessarily the most fun I'll ever have. I don't like many rides, stick me on a kiddie ride and I'm good; anything bigger, faster, higher and crazier and I'm outa there. Don't even get me started on things like Drop Zone (fear of heights) and roller coasters.
The first time getting on a rollercoaster we don't know where it's going to take us in between that start and finish. We see that there are loops and turns, some even upside down. We know it has some fast pace and some slow(er), but we don't REALLY know what it's going to be like, we've never been on it. Yet it'll be over before we know it...
What can we expect from this crazy ride?
Life's a rollercoaster. We've all heard that one before, at sometime or another. It seems this saying has become more real to me in my life recently. The past 12 months have been CRAZY! In Ten months I've been to 3 continents, 16 countries, 31 cities/towns and 2 hilltribes. I've stayed with three homestay families, in a handful of inns/hotels and approximately 60 nights in a tent. I've written more pages of papers then I want to know, I've seen and learned so much I can't even remember it all. At home I've gotten a new job, met my nephew, am soon to be aunt X3 and my roomie is engaged! I've tried to balance my job, soccer, spending time with my family and dealing with the lack or abundance of friends (winter vs. Summer) around me. It has had it's ups and downs, it’s loops and turns and even up-side-downs. It's been tough. It's been incredible. It's been a fast paced roller coaster with minimal slow downs. It's been consistently busy and full of changes. But that's ok, because come September things will calm down. My life will go back to some normalcy once I'm back at school.
Wrong.
SSU, my wonderful school, is facing some challenges this year, and with that comes some changes. The loss of some dearly loved people as they're graduated students or staff that need to seek work elsewhere. It's hard to know what this year will look like with people gone that held such a significant role in the SSU community. Things will look a little different, they year will unfold differently than my first year did. This is obviously to be expected, but there have been some changes I wasn't expecting. And if you know me, you know I don't like change. I did really good on my travel terms with change, if I can be so bold to say so, but I knew that that was just a short period of time; I needed to be flexible. But I wasn't and I'm not, ready to let go of the norm at SSU that I became comfortable with my first year (and bits of my second year) around. So once again I am delving into some unknown. I'll have to step forward with intentionality and care. But I thank the Lord that He's there supporting me and ready to catch me if I fall.
This week as I've been trying to process this transition period from home to school and the transition of school I left to the school I'll be returning to, I've been reminded again of a passage from James.
“Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for JOY, for when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
James 1:2-6
I'm being tested, but it'll be a joy. I've asked my Father in Heaven for Wisdom as I face the uncertainties this year may bring. I'm going to hold tight to God, who is the car carrying me over the tracks of this roller coaster. What a crazy ride of a lifetime….but I know I'm safe in my car, as are you in yours :)
God is good!
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