Something a little different...

So, bear with me here. This is a new idea. I was going through some of my documents last night (I have this whole, big folder on my laptop of stories that I've never finished and things I'm working on and poems I've written). I found this poem I wrote maybe a month or so ago? It's kind of meant more to be read out loud, in a spoken-word type fashion. But I figured it's probably okay to just read in your head too. I might make a video of it sometime, in which case it'll probably show up on my Facebook or YouTube page (that I never really use, haha). I don't know. Maybe I'll put it on here too. But anyway, this is the poem. Read away :)

In the start

God opened up man’s heart

Let him into a place of living art

Said to him and his lady

That fruit is pretty shady

Don’t eat it or you’ll die

They didn’t even ask why.

But then the serpent came and told the first lie.

“Surely you will not die.”

In the fall

Man and woman hid from God, hid from all

He had to banish them, ‘cause they were small

Their sin made them gross

God hated sin the most

He had no choice but to be fair

And cover them with animal hair

From then on out

Things went downhill, no doubt

First murder, first adultery

First theft, first of everything.

Then came the flood.

See, there was too much spilling of blood

And the relationships got twisted

Somehow, man just missed it

And God said “Enough.”

Then came the command to Noah, which was tough.

Two by two, He said they’d come

And in the end, when all was said and done

The rain came tumbling down.

Fast forward a few hundred years

God saw the Israelites crying their tears

He sent Moses to lead them from their fears.

But they turned.

In their hearts, they yearned

40 extra years, He led them around

A whole generation forbidden to see the promised ground

They could’ve lived the right life without a sound

But nope.

Fast forward again, this time a whole bunch

And find a baby boy, the Messiah, I got a hunch.

He was something special from early on

Liked to pray in the morning, around dawn.

He called the unlikely 12 together

And from then on, they stuck to him as if with a tether.

He walked with them.

He talked with them.

He built them up and tore them down,

Made sure they weren’t just messing aroun’

He told truths they couldn’t understand

And when Peter fell on the water, He gave ‘em His hand.

Then came that night.

The night of the betrayal of the Light.

The night all the disciples tried to fight.

All but the one,

Responsible for pulling the trigger on the imaginary gun.

Boom.

The serpent lied.

The Savior died.

And through that death, all others died.

And through His resurrection, all are justified.

This is the truth we are called to tell.

Choose it now, or you choose hell.

Offensive yes, but I’m not sure why

Maybe ‘cause you’re wrong, maybe cause you lie

Maybe you like to live inside your sin

Maybe you don’t want to see what’s waiting outside the din

Maybe you’ve settled on second best.

Maybe you’ve tried like all the rest.

Maybe you’re tired and all you want is peace

Maybe you think “That’s not the life for me.”

Maybe all you see are rules and regulations

Not the peace and the hope that can bind up the nations

Or the love and grace that break the chains of generations

Maybe all you see is hate and hypocrisy

And it would be false if I said that stuff’s never bothered me.

I know that you know somewhere deep down inside

There’s a darkness and from it, you can’t quite hide.

Well here’s the hope and the light

The end to the pain in the middle of the night

The promise of beginning, of brand new life

The end of your struggle and so-called strife

The reason for joy and smiling and laughter

The only real-life happily ever after

Ready, set, go.

Don’t say no.

But don’t say yes until you know.

Til you know that you know that you know

That God is the one that you want to please

And that His grace is what’s bringing you to your knees

‘Cause anything less than just accepting His gift

Is enough to make your new faith shift.

It’s not that hard or formulaic.

I promise you, it’s not archaic.

It’s awesome and powerful and majestic, you’ll see.

It’s the end of you, and the start too, trust me.

Insomniac

Once upon a time, there lived a girl by the name of Andrea. One day, Andrea found herself living in a cycle of the same thing, day in and day out, for about a week. See, Andrea HAD been in college, but then the semester ended. Suddenly she no longer knew what to do with herself. She managed to keep herself occupied for a while by rearranging her room (it was in a post-apocolyptic state after she tried to cram all her dorm room stuff in with her normal bedroom stuff), by making some of the crafts she found on Pinterest, and by Facebook chatting with all her college buddies (whom she missed dearly). ...Can you miss someone dearly?...

And then, Andrea knew that something was wrong. She asked her mother why she wasn't wearing her yellow shirt. Her mother said "I was wearing that yesterday." And that was when Andrea realized she no longer could distinguish each day she'd been home from the day before. Something had to change. But what?

Perhaps Andrea should limit her time on the internet. Perhaps she should step away from the television, or the fridge. Perhaps she should pick up one of the multitude of books she owned but still had yet to read. Or perhaps she should maybe pick up an old favorite and start with that. Perhaps she should immerse herself in prayer and Bible reading (that's kind of hard for a lot of people though...). Perhaps she should do chores around the house, or actually finish the Pinterest projects she started, or sort through her clean laundry that has gone unfolded for a few days now...

So...Andrea just proved to herself in that last paragraph that there are still many things she can do to occupy her time before camp starts. And before her brother's wedding. Before June, basically, which is when all the fun begins.

Poor, sleepless Andrea. The insomniac-ical college student on break. One day soon and Andrea will probably find herself wishing she had all this free time...

The End of Freshman Year

Hello people of blogging land. This is the part of the blog where Andrea sits and writes about her conflicting emotions about it being the end of the first year of college. Not just semester. Year.

It's weird to think I won't be here for almost three months after having lived here for the better part of a year. And it's weird to think I won't be able to walk down the hall and see my friends, or cross a street to get some food, or hop on a bus to go to campus, where all sorts of people and adventures await. And it's weird to think that just yesterday, in the midst of pre-final exam stress, I couldn't WAIT to be home. Now that the worst of my exams are over, I'm not so sure I feel that way.

Or maybe it's just because people have started leaving and the reality of this being the end of something great is finally sinking in. And I mean, this year has been GREAT. I know I haven't kept this blog uber updated, and most of what I've written about involves being single or...well...pretty much a bunch of unrelated stuff. I know I also tend to write here more when I'm depressed and less when I'm happy (funny how that works. Guess misery really does love company) but this has probably been one of the best years of my life.

I've learned so much being six hours away from home, and I've met so many great, encouraging, lovable people. How do I say goodbye to that? How do I just climb into a car and drive away? (Okay, so confession time: I still can't drive, but either way, point made.)

I know I'll see most of these people again next year. And I know the summer isn't that long. And I know my family misses me, and it'll be great to get to spend time with them again. But there's just this kind of emptiness I'm feeling right now (like the emptiness in all those packed-up dorm rooms). Blame it on my lack of sleep. Blame it on the fact that I'm emotional. Or just blame it on the truth of the situation: I actually really enjoy school now and I don't want it to be over. I don't want to leave.

The comfort comes in when I remember the following:
1. God isn't going anywhere. He will ALWAYS be with me, no matter what.
2. Next year is going to be just as exciting as this year was, just in it's own way.
3. Just because this year is ending doesn't mean something just as good isn't going to begin soon. Because something good is going to begin.
4. Summer = camp and camp is pretty much my second home (besides college, which is now my other second home...)
5. My parents still love me dearly and I'll always be able to go back to them.
6. My brother is GETTING MARRIED! ASDFGHJKL;
7. The internet allows me the opportunity to talk in real-time with friends, even if they're ALL over the country (and maybe even the world :0 )

So it's the end. But, then it will be the start. Then there will be another end, and then another start. Doors close and new ones open. It'll all be okay. Now someone call me and tell me that same thing, because I listen to others better than I listen to myself:P