Spring has Sprung

I realize that the last time I posted was, well, a long time ago.  But then I realized that the main reason I post on this thing is to sort of process things I'm learning being away from home.  In a way, I've been just settling in.  I wouldn't say that I've figured out life here, but things here are just starting to seem more normal as opposed to weird, different, or hard.

Wait, did I say things weren't hard?  I didn't mean that.  While a lot of things are starting to settle in, the challenges with living here are still new and, quite frankly, more challenging than ever.  A lot of times, there is no right or wrong answer to a problem.  The answer of what to do isn't always in black and white.  Sometimes there isn't even an answer that has any good in it, and no matter what I choose, things will be bad.  I strongly dislike those sorts of problems, and it seems like this semester has been filled with them.

When there isn't an answer, and I can't reason around these problems, that's where I've been learning to go to God.  Even if I don't know how to solve a problem, He is there to give me wisdom, peace, and comfort.  Even if things don't seem ok, I know God will never send anything my way that He knows I can't handle.  I've been learning to trust Him in a much deeper way, knowing that only He provides the kind of peace I seek.

God has been so good in many ways this week.  It's like He flipped the switch from winter (if you could even call these last six months winter) to summer in only a matter of days.  And as the temperature rises campus comes alive with people emerging from their dorm dens.  There is just so much joy in everyone around me, I haven't been able to do anything except smile this whole week!  My joy has come from a deeper peace than I have had in long time (and the weather too I suppose).  Because just as God has been changing this weather, He has also been changing me.  Things are different now, but life comes in seasons, and even though trusting God can be hard through these seasons of change, I've come to realize that life isn't always about knowing the big picture of God's plan.  It's just about trusting God to be there with you each step of the way.