Thank You!

When I say that I have been blessed beyond imagination, that is exactly what I mean. God has placed a few specific couples in my life that have just been amazing.

The last three years of my life have been the most fun, most scary, most growing, most exciting, most anxiety-filled experiences. I have lived in a dorm setting, and with three roommates in one year, (moving dorms three times, mind you.) I then moved into my first apartment with another roommate (amazing, might I tell you.) Lived with 11 other people in an intern house over Summer '09, and then moved to another town to live with a family of 6. All in less than 3 years!

I mentioned all the places I had moved over the past couple of years. It was hard. Really really hard. Sometimes I do ask myself if I made the right decisions. Though, I also can't deny all that I've learned. Especially from the family of 6 I still currently reside with.

I want to share a little bit about what I've learned from each impacting family. My heart is so heavy, and so full of love toward all of them.

What I've learned:

Thatcher's: You love me with my own love language. Words of affirmation and physical touch. (Your hugs are the one's my FB status referred to not long ago.) You guys hold such a SPECIAL place in my life. Lesson: Love others with their love language. It will change their world. Another lesson from you is how important picking the right spouse is. (We've talked about this...) You have a marriage to model. So when my hopeless romantic finally shows up, you will be the ones we get counsel from!!! If my family can be half of what yours is, I'll be satisfied for life. Your kids...WHOA! Awesome! One more lesson: Be real and genuine, because people can see right through fake. You are SO real and genuine. I want to be that trustworthy to people in my life. I also can't wait to visit you in some foreign country someday.

Nicholson's: A few of the many lessons I'll take with me from them is the importance of scheduling, ability to say 'no', and staying accountable to yourself. A love for children's rights have also been birthed in my heart through their passions for the orphaned and displaced. You guys rock. I like live with you, and try to remind you how thankful I am for this gift. I hope I'm believable!! I think living with you guys has taught me more about myself and how to handle my emotions related to situations that occur... it's weird to explain, but good stuff!

Moore's: We met over a shared love for the Nations. You guys have this special gift of connecting people with exactly where they need to go. You know those people that you sometimes meet and you're like, "Whoa! If I could be their friend..." That is how I felt when I met you. The atmosphere you present is young, fresh, and vibrant. And your knowledge and love for the Lord teaches me. The way you have built your family is yet again, another model to be followed. I love watching you with your children as they grow into amazing followers of the Lord.

There are more that have made impacts, but these main three have remained constant throughout the past year of my life and without them, I'm pretty sure I'd have not made it. I'm seriously NOT kidding, either. All three of you share the gift of hospitality, and it's just amazing. It's what I crave.

These recent times haven't been my strongest, but who doesn't go on roller-coasters? The verse that is becoming more alive to me right now is this:

2 Corinthians 12:9, "But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

I may be finally understanding that weak is best. That ignorance about the future is bliss. That control is restrictive. That weakness is strength. Because, with the way Nursing School has eaten at every bone in my body, I've never been more weak. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually, I'm exhausted. But, God is SO strong.

I think I actually feel Him carrying me, and sometimes He's using you.