The Blessing of Friendship

Friends are such a blessing, and this week I was VERY blessed.  Thursday I had the opportunity to spend some time with two close friends.  I was planning on it just being Kayla and I, but was very excited when Kelsie was able to join us as well.  It is always a blessing when you are in the company of good friends.  Kayla, Kelsie, and I have been best friends since we were little ones in Sunday School.  I cannot tell you the amount of time we have spent in their basement playing house, or the hours we’ve talked about boys, watched movies, and just enjoyed being in each others' company.  We’ve traveled together, done Daredevil Dives, and so much more. 

We've all faced our issues in the past, had our arguments, and drifted apart at times.  In the end, though, we always seem to be able to pick up right where we left off when we spend time together.  We split up lines in our favorite songs like always, talk about boys like always, and as usual I give one of my typical "speeches" they like to make joke about.  I"m thankful for the friendship of these two ladies and hope that it will only continue down the road.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."  I'm pretty sure we fit that description well. :)

What are you going to do now?

“Now that you’ve graduated, what are you going to do?” I get asked this question ALL of the time. I feel as though people expect me to have some grand answer as to what my plans are now.  It’s as though they expect me to be moving out on my own, beginning a fancy job, etc.  The reality, though, is that my future is a little unclear. 

So what are my plans?  Well before I get into those, let me backtrack a little.  I mean it has been 5 months since I’ve written.  Student teaching went really well.  I truly enjoyed the experience and feel like I learned a lot and grew as an educator.  I was sad to say goodbye to my class and found it even harder to say goodbye to the university that shaped me for the past 4 years.  And don’t even get me started on how hard it was to say goodbye to my best friends.  Let’s move on before I get all gushy…

The last few weeks of school I was stressed out about how I was going to survive without being able to become a substitute right away.  There were a few sleepless nights when I prayed fervently that the Lord would reveal a plan and help me during the uncertain time.  The next day I was talking to my mom about how I needed a part time job and she told me of a babysitting job she thought I could fulfill.  By the end of the day I had that lined up.  The next day I received a message asking if I wanted to work in the daycare at the local fitness center.  What do you know, but the hours there were the opposite of the baby-sitting hours, allowing two jobs to fit perfectly together.  God answered my prayers within just a few days.  He took the fear of needing money away and blessed me more than I could imagine.  Sometimes I find myself getting frustrated because I cannot fulfill my dream of teaching yet.  I get frustrated that I can’t just jump in and start living the life I always dreamed of following graduation.  How easy it is to forget how He answered my prayers and blessed me more than I deserved.  But, as usual, I digress.

 What am I going to do now?  I’m going to continue working the jobs the Lord so graciously provided to start saving money to pay off those dreaded college loans.  I’m going to wait until I can begin what will hopefully be a job as a substitute teacher and pray that it leads me to my own classroom one day.  I’m going to continue to rely on God and search for His plan for my life.  What am I going to do now?  Maybe instead of trying to answer the question everyone asks I should just tell them that I don’t know for certain, but that I do know this…

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11