And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” ~ Joshua 4:20-24
In a similar way, I want to take a few moments to highlight some of the many amazing things that God has done for me over this amazing summer.
- I had the opportunity to grow closer to a dear friend of mine, to the point where she has become one of the three people in my life who know me best, and I have in turn become one of her best friends. This makes for an amazing support system, which I am sure we will both have cause to rely on as the school year progresses.
- Through the friend above, I met another wonderful girl who has quickly become dear to me as we share a lot of the same struggles in life and are able to encourage one another in fighting them.
- The two girls above and I have become "Accountabilibuddies" and begun a Bible study through the book of Romans together, allowing all of us to grow spiritually and help each other figure out more about God.
- Over the course of a couple of crazy all-nighters, conversations with those two and my "big brother" completely reworked my view of myself and my relationship with others (including God).
- A really fantastic, godly guy whom I've been friends with for three years has taken a romantic interest in me. At my request, we are currently pursuing a deeper friendship with one another rather than advancing our relationship at this point in time; however, we are both open to a more official relationship in the future if God continues to lead us in the direction he has these past few months.
- I volunteered with the Jr. High group run by the church that my college shares a campus with. I intended to help out only for the summer, but God is calling me to continue during the school year. This means that I will become the co-leader of a small group: helping with or leading games, lessons, discussions, etc. and connecting with the kids in my group on Wednesday nights, at events, and occasionally throughout the week. All of those things require the development of skills which will be extremely useful in the pursuit of the calling God has placed upon my life for after college.
- I joined a church college group which meets on Sunday nights, so now I am getting more of the Word, more fellowship, more support, etc.
- I got to teach the college group pastor's wife how to crochet, which is something I want to be able to do with kids in the future; doing it with an adult first made for excellent teaching practice.
- Due to changes in the college housing arrangement, I will not have a roommate this semester, but I am still living in a double room. This provides an excellent ministry base for me; I can now host our AccountaBible Studies, let commuter friends crash occasionally, possibly hold events here for my small group girls, etc. with plenty of space and no roommate to clear it with first.
- My "big brother" got engaged!!! Okay, so that's not really a change that happened in MY life exactly... but I'm still so blessed that God provided my best and closest friend with such an incredible life companion. :)
Praise God for all that He has done and is continuing to do in my life! What kind of things has He done in your life over the summer? Consider making a list of your own; your personal "pile of stones", if you will. You may or may not have posterity to share the grace of God with (I sure don't, haha), but you can use your experiences to encourage other believers or to simply remind yourself in later years or whenever times get hard about His incredible provision. To God be the glory, great things He has done!
"For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
"For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
~ Romans 8:28
Quite the eventful summer! Some guy was bound to eventually see the wonderful person you are and pursue you. :) I hope CREW is a wonderful growing and rewarding experience for you.
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