The Final Sprint to the Starting Line

As I write this, I am glorying in the fact that I have survived the GREs and can now make a huge check mark on my to-do list. Now, checking things off on a list might seem a rather mundane thing to find joy in, but it's true what they say about the little things. Plus knocking out this test (a huge source of stress for the last few months) is absolutely a blessing. I kind of feel the need to give one of those cheesy acceptance speeches people give when they accept an award: first of all, I need to thank my mom, whose tireless patience and encouragement was invaluable to me when we were studying math together. And by studying math together I mean her helping me with math and keeping me from getting frustrated about how much I don't care about fast two cars are driving towards one another... Second big thank-you goes to all of my friends who have been super encouraging, especially everyone who prayed for me today and helped me keep my head on straight!

Some of my favorite quotes from encouraging wall posts: "If you and the GRE were in a cage match, you would win HANDS DOWN!" - Hannah L.

"don't worry, if you can't get into grad school, you can live with the little roommate in my basement" - Sarah M.

"Perspective: It's too late to worry. It's never too late to be awesome" - Jordan M.

Final thank-you goes to my Heavenly Father. Not really a thank-you so much as a huge praise for what He's been teaching me even in just the last 24 hours. I was trying to calm my mind before I went to sleep last night so I grabbed my Bible after I crawled into bed. I opened to I Corinthians chapter 15 and was struck by Paul's straightforwardness in the passage. But v.54 really struck a cord with me. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." Over the course of my college career I have lost a number of people who meant a great deal to me. And yet, despite all that pain, the countless hours of asking God "why?" we have victory in Christ. In Christ we live with hope that death is not the end of life but merely a momentary sleep in light of eternity. Hallelujah.

Switching gears, here's my official update on all things Guatemala!

I'm leaving September 30th, so please pray that my flight and everything goes well. That's in exactly 15 days and I need to get all my grad school applications done before I leave, so that's my last big stress factor. But above all, God is good to me, and I will trust that He is faithful to complete the work that he has begun in me.