My cousins and sisters--Merd, Mars, Lars, Lone-- and I made a list at the beginning of the summer of random things that we were going to do before the summer was over so that we would never run out of ideas of things to do. The summer went by in such a flash that we didn't even finish our list of 15 things.
Here are some of the pictures:
We jumped into the river downtown. Mom and dad and my aunts and uncles said we couldn't go to Fripp Island, our family vacation, if we jumped in because they thought that was so rebellious. But we evaluated the danger and decided we were willing to take the risk, and it was well worth it. The river was calmer than the 3 foot pond in my backyard and we didn't even get sick from the water. All that worrying on mom's part for nothing.
We dyed our hair blue as one of the events. Mine never really showed up too well and then everyone else's ended up fading to gray. Now they look like they have a gray streak of hair in their pony tails.
Having a fun school year is going to be hard to beat the fun that I had this summer. But, I really think I can do it if I put my mind to it. I'll only be in college once, and I have to remember to have fun and not concentrate too much on my classes, right? Grades, they don't really matter in the long run.
I'm just going to take millions of vitamins and try to sleep regularly (though that might be hard living with Gav and Gnat because we'll be having so much fun all the time) and hopefully I'll stay healthy! Getting through a month without a virus will be a feat for me! And I will be thankful for any bit healthiness that the Lord gives me!
If I've learned anything in this past year, it's sympathy for people who aren't well. I really feel for people who are sick because of my sickness. I know how it is to lay.sit.rollover.lay.sit. in bed for days. And now I can see that God will use that experience in my life to glorify Him through me relating to other sick people.
And secondly, I've learned acceptance of all types of people and their spiritual gifts. The other day, I found myself defending the curbside preacher who was yelling at the top of his lungs. I used to think those guys were just horrible, turning people away from Christ because they were so annoying. But now I believe that the Lord does use all types of people in all types of ways--even those guys. I mean, Merd was saved by the lady with purple hair and fake eyelashes on TV. Do you know which one I'm talking about? Who would have thought that lady would actually impact someone's life?
So anyways, I think that now I have a more open mind after my year-long bumpy ride, but I am hoping that the Lord will use me to glorify him through experiencing those tough things and that this year will be easy. That's probably not really the right thing that I should be praying, but it's true. All I want is a fun, easy year. In my new apartment. With my awesome roommates and friends next door. With my family safe at home. And that I will be able to stay up in Collegetown having fun over most weekends!
So here's to a great upcoming school year for me and for all of you!
(It's sparkling grape juice, of course!)
