The title of this blog post is ironic because the majority of my summer was spent going to bed around 11 or 12. Yay irony! This post is also me processing this summer and what it meant to me and how I grew/what I learned so it might be on the more sporadic side as far as organization goes. Yay processing! Now to de-rabbit trail...
I did something a little different this year. Okay, very different. I worked a part-time job (that had full-time hours) and did not go to camp until just last week. It was kind of huge for me. The job I had was good, but challenging, and it definitely stretched me out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot about what "real" jobs look like, and it allowed me the opportunity to make a little money (which, as a college student who currently has a negative net worth, that was a big deal). I also learned that I need to finish college and do something with the degree that I earn because the job I had this summer is not something I could do long-term. Like I said, it was good, but it was challenging too.
Staying at home also gave me the chance to get more involved with my church (I actually got to go to VBS this year - YES!) and spend more time with my parents. I've learned to value my time with them more since going away to school, but even though I have a better appreciation/understanding of them, I also tend to clash with them more. I'm so used to "Life According to Andrea" and so not used to hearing things like "You should probably go to bed soon" or "WAKE UP! I'M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU AGAIN!" Being involved with church was a definite plus. Being around my parents so much was equal parts plus and minus. It's honestly nothing against them and I love them dearly. It's just that I'm an adult now and I want to be treated like one. #TheStruggle
Going to camp last week was much the same as working all summer; it followed the trend of good-but-challenging. I was a counselor for the week, which is different from my position on the leadership team that I had all last summer. I haven't counseled since 2012, so it was a bit of a shock to my system to go from worrying about staff to worrying about campers. But also like I said, it was good. God didn't shy away from giving me what was described by my friend as a "summer's worth of problems in one week," but I think He did that because He knew He could strengthen me enough to handle it. And handle it we did (emphasis on "we").
Then I was surprised to get an email from my college informing me that my return date had to be pushed back a few days. Normally I don't think I'd care but college isn't like high school. I actually look forward to going back and so the idea of a few more days at home was just kind of a super huge drag. It would afford me more time to see my friends and my parents, but I've been banking on going back on the 10th all summer, so to change a months-long expectation within a week felt mildly impossible. Praise the Lord, He gave me an amazing, super-hospitable friend who is willing to put me up for a few days until I can move to my on-campus housing. Just one more thing to add to my good-but-challenging summer.
So...procrastination prods me to write this blog. I'm currently avoiding bed because...I'm too tired and lazy to sleep? I don't know. I'll never totally understand why I put off sleeping. Maybe I subconsciously know that if I go to bed early, it leaves me with too much free time to analyze all of my life's problems. But I'm also avoiding packing. My room is just such a mess right now that I'm way too overwhelmed to do anything about it. Instead, I'm seated not-so-comfortably between a mound of unfolded laundry and a pile consisting of a DVD case, books, a tissue box, and random craft scraps that have been cluttering my futon for days. For DAYS. Yay bunk beds!
To sum it all up in elementary-school-first-paper-assignment style...
What I Learned This Summer Is:
1. God's grace is sufficient
2. God's grace is relentless
3. Endurance in times of aggravation
4. When in duress, pray
5. When not in duress, pray
6. Following God's plan might not always be my absolute favorite thing
7. God still has a purpose in EVERYTHING (whether or not it is my absolute favorite thing)
8. Going to bed early because you have to get up early is probably a good idea and doesn't make me lame. It just makes me a young adult with a daytime job that needs her sleep. (this one doesn't quite have the same spiritual application as the others, but it's still worth recording, I think)
So there it is. #Summer2k14 I've made a lot of crafts, I've hung out with my parents (and passed out on the couch in a fashion similar to their own - oh, sleep, my precious friend!), and I've seen more of my church family than I've seen in years. Not going to camp hurt sometimes, and then going to camp last week kind of hurt too, but I don't regret my summer at home. And I don't regret my boring summer nights.
If anything, I would regret staying up as late as I did, but I'm done working and can sleep in and it's not really worth it to get upset over something I can't change. Yay things to learn from!
No comments:
Post a Comment