2014 kinda felt like the year life started taking off for me.
There were a lot of changes, some scary and some exciting. There were also a
lot of blessings and lessons too. Over all, I grew a lot and changed a lot, so
I thought I’d recap my year here.
I definitely make the most of the opportunities that Davis
offers and manage to stay pretty busy. I am an RA in the girls’ dorms which
also includes leading a small group Bible study, which I enjoy. I am still
working with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Broome County as an office
assistant and Good News Club teacher. I enjoy doing the office work and also
having an opportunity to have a job that allows me to lead children to the Lord
and teach them more about him. I continue to be a part of a student led monthly
worship night called Ruah. In addition to all of those things, I started
volunteering on Saturdays at a youth center in Binghamton. I started taking
voice lessons through Davis and really enjoyed getting back into singing. And
in my free time (the little I have) I enjoy writing as a hobby. I like to write
poems and blog posts and I had a blast writing my first serious novel. I just
recently finished and am now in the process of editing it. Mostly I write for
fun, but it would be great to see it published someday. Please let me know if
you’d like to read it!
I turned 21 in February 2014. I decided to give myself a
birthday present by getting my first tattoo. I got the “Blessings, May 31, 2009”
tattooed onto my left shoulder blade. That is the date that I had my brain
infection and is a reminder to me that even in the biggest trials, God’s
blessings can be found. May 31, 2014 marked 5 healthy years since I had the
brain infection. I am thankful and blessed! Turning 21 is probably a big reason
why I felt like life started taking off. I have definitely noticed a difference
in age this year. I have felt myself itching to be more independent and make decisions
and choices on my own, which I know is a normal thing to desire and a part of
growing up. I know God is preparing me for big things and I can’t wait until my
life finishes taking off.
There were several fun events in the spring 2014 semester.
My parents came up and celebrated my birthday with me and my friends. I got to
go to a masquerade ball at Davis, so that was fun to get dressed up and have a
good time with friends. I went on a NYC bus trip with Davis and enjoyed a day
touring the city with some of my friends. My favorite thing to do in spring
2014 was to hang out with some of the awesome friends I have made at Davis.
Even though spring 2014 was a good semester, I spent a lot
of it feeling rather anxious about my Grandpa’s cancer and knowing that I would
have to part ways with my friends at the end of the semester because many of
them were moving onto different places. God spoke to me a lot during that time
to remind that even though life was uncertain, he was my solid rock, certain
and unchanging. On May 6, 2014 I was forced to face both of these impending
events that I had been dreading all semester long. It was the last day of the
semester and I got a phone call from my mom that Grandpa had passed away. This
forced me to also have to say goodbye to my friends a bit early. I had already
known how good of friends they all were, but they proved it to me once again
that day. As we gathered to say our goodbyes, they went around in a circle and all
said something that they loved about me. I got into the car and reluctantly
drove away knowing that when I returned to Davis it was going to be a very
different place for me. It was definitely an emotional day. As I saw a rainbow
in the sky on the drive home, however, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness.
Through that rainbow, he reminded me that even on the darkest, rainiest, and
cloudiest of days, his faithfulness prevails and he will never let us down even
when people come in and out of our lives.
The summer brought on a new kind of adventure. I was finally
able to leave my summer job of three years working at Kennywood Amusement Park.
Child Evangelism Fellowship of Greater Pittsburgh offered me a job as the
Summer Ministries Coordinator. This was definitely a new “big girl” job as I
was the acting director over CEF’s 5-Day Club summer ministry and another
reason I feel like life started to take off in 2014. My job was to both
schedule and oversee the summer missionaries at the 5-Day Clubs. I was blessed when my best friend, Nikki, who I met through CEF in 2008, came and spent a week of her vacation time with me so she could help out. She has been a great friend through the years and I am definitely blessed by her friendship! We reached
around 340 kids and saw 50 of them make a decision to ask Jesus to clean their
hearts from sin. So it was definitely an exciting summer as God used me in big
ways. I was definitely stretched and grew a lot as a result of working with CEF
Pittsburgh.
Alex, my brother, joined me at Davis for the 2014-2015
school year. I was a little nervous to start the fall 2014 semester without my
friends there. But God continued to speak to me about his faithfulness and
provision. The first couple weeks were hard and I faced feeling rather lonely
due to the friendship dynamics that had drastically changed without my friends
there. It definitely wasn't made any easier when I found out that my pastor of almost 15 years was going to be resigning from my home church because he felt God leading him elsewhere. But God was faithful to provide for me when I met Patrick. Patrick and I
got to know each other and after praying about it, we started dating on
September 25, 2014. He got to come home with me in October to meet my family
and friends. I got to go home with him to Wilmington, North Carolina for
Thanksgiving to meet his. Dating and relationships has been something God has
been working on my heart with for several years now. So this was a pretty big
life step for me to take to get into a relationship with Patrick. But we truly
feel God has led us into this relationship with big plans in mind for us. Being
in a relationship with Patrick is definitely yet another way that life has started
taking off. I am excited to see where God leads us in the next couple of years
and am thankful for the company and leadership that Patrick gives me.
I got my first 4.0 in college this past semester at Davis,
so that was a nice accomplishment. Though I am a senior, I have one more year
after this year because I am doing a double concentration and taking more
credits. I will graduate with a bible degree with concentrations in teaching English
as a second language and Christian counseling. Right now I am feeling called to
ministry within the states, possibly in the inner city with children. We will
see where God leads though! I enjoy being involved in various things at Davis
and will definitely be sad when my time there comes to a close.
One of the major themes of 2014 has definitely been God’s
faithfulness. Though there were many changes and big steps in 2014, God
remained the same through it all. I have faith that as my life continues to
take off and I continue to change, God will be right there with me, guiding me
and anchoring me in the faithful way that he always has.
I hope that God is as good and faithful to you in 2015 as he was to me in 2014.
