Saturday I sat in a room surrounded by women who have shaped my life. Some of them were family, many of them were simply women who have taken the time to pour into my life.  As we celebrated my upcoming marriage, I looked around at the faces in the room and can tell you each one of them has lived up to the advice given in Titus 2.

Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives.(Titus 2:3-4, The Message)

My mother is wonderful. I love her and respect her for so many things. But one of the things I appreciate the most is she took to heart “it takes a village” and always encouraged me to develop relationships with other women.  She never got upset when I would spend my afternoons or Saturday mornings spending time with other women talking about life and learning from them.  She gave me one of the greatest gifts I believe one can give their children.  The blessing to have other “mothers.”  And these women have shaped and molded me into the person I am today. They have loved me, admonished me, encouraged me, supported me, included me, and celebrated with me.   As I have watched them in their roles as wives, mothers, business women, and church leaders, I can honestly say, they have impacted my life in ways they will never understand.

As I prepare to be a wife, I am increasingly thankful for all the women in my life who have played a part in shaping who I am today.  I am overwhelmed by the love they still have for me, the excitement they have over my upcoming marriage, and the way they encourage me in my spiritual life.  Despite miles and months between visits, my time with them is always full of hugs, laughter, and conversations that pick up right where they left off.  I will always be thankful for the “moms” I have had, the women who have become close friends, confidants, and role models. As I begin on the journey of being a wife, their advice and example is sure be invaluable.  So I say, thank you.   Thank you for the time invested in my life, the prayers, the hugs, the laughter, and the encouragement.  I will be a better wife because of the examples set for me.

Ever notice how for some people serving just seems to come natural? It’s not a job or a chore, they just do it.  Lately, I have been in very close contact with a family who serves as a way of life. (and by close contact, I mean living in their house)

This past week, I got a ride to work one day because my car was frozen shut and another day I went out to a cleaned off, warmed up car.  Today I got breakfast. Most nights I get dinner. After an unfortunate flat tire in -3 degree weather, an air compressor showed up to inflate the flat spare tire.  And this is just what I have experienced this week.  I know for a fact I am not the only one who has experienced the grace and hospitality of this family because they do it out of hearts of love for people around them.

It has inspired me to work on developing similar habits in my life. I want to be a person who serves not out of comfort or convenience, but serves to meet the needs of those around me.  I can tell you at the end of the  day, far more people have seen Jesus through simple kind acts done out of love than the bold, extravagant moves of a church. Both are needed I suppose. But I think we too often forget about the small things. Perhaps we are too wrapped up in our own lives or too focused on our own needs. Perhaps we hold too tightly to the stuff we own and forget it is all God’s anyways. Sadly, we, myself included, too often miss out on the chance to be a practical blessing to those around us. So for the rest of 2014, maybe we can all work harder to open our doors, share our lives, and warm up cars.

I am officially finished!!!

This morning I woke up, took a deep breath, and realized a huge weight is gone. All those papers and projects and textbooks are no longer hanging over my head or sitting on my desk longing to be read. I can now write MPA after my name if I want. Soon enough there will be an expensive piece of paper hanging on my wall signifying a lot of hard work, sweat, tears, and sacrifices. On top of that, I even finished it out with a 4.0 GPA.

Now that I am finished, I have lots of plans of things to accomplish. First off, I plan to actually have a social life! I am looking forward to not having to turn down offers to hang out because I have papers to write or books to read. Oh, and I am going to start reading for pleasure again too!! I have a whole list of books to tackle!!  I am going to clean and organize and cook. All things that have been neglected lately. And I have a little thing called a wedding to finish planning!

As I begin to reflect back over the past two years, I am thankful. Thankful for my parents who were so supportive. Thankful for the friends who understood I was overwhelmed and just gave me space, always offering to be there if I needed anything. I am thankful for the new friends I made and the education I gained. And I am thankful for Jordan’s ever faithful presence. He was always there to bring me food, encourage me, listen to me, and keep me going when I wanted to give up. I am sure I dropped a few balls over the past two years and probably stepped on a few toes, but I did the best I could. Now that it is all over, I am going to take some time to reconnect with friends and focus on my health which has taken a hit due to all those papers and projects.  I am going to relax a little and enjoy life.  And I am going to take the education I was afforded and use it to make a difference. I already have some pretty crazy ideas!:)

Thank you all for your support, love, and encouragement! Here’s to the next chapter of life!! 🙂