Junior Year

So in honor of my junior year coming to a close, I thought I would recap on all of God's blessings through this year. Looking back, it is really amazing on how well this year really did turn out. Background - from second semester freshmen all the way through sophomore year, I had 3 close friends I spent time with. One of them was my roommate sophomore year. I learned throughout the course of the year that my roommate would not be returning to ABC, one friend was going to Israel and the other spent the past year in Israel. My third friend would be busy with her senior year, and due to some of my own misunderstandings, there was a regrettable rift between us.

Needless to say, I was not looking forward to returning to school this year. I didn't know who my roommate would be, what friends I would have, and there were many classes I was dreading. Several people wished me blessings and prayed I would have the best year ever, but I was not convinced that was even a possibility. This is of course, a sad testimony for a child of God, for with Him all things are possible. This has probably been my best year of college ever.

Now I do have one disclaimer, I did miss having my 3 friends here, and I have some wonderful memories with them that cannot be replaced, but in all other areas, junior year has been the bomb! It is so amazing to see God's hand in every single detail. It was truly a blessing to experience His awesome power these past 2 semesters.

First, the roommate situation had me terrified. I had no idea what to expect and I had many similar feelings I experienced coming to freshmen year. It turned out I knew my roommate ahead of time, well at least who she was. I still had some reservations as she seemed much more mature than myself. Well let me tell you what, do not judge a book by its cover. Bethanna has been such a blessing. She is also in elementary education, and she had the rare opportunity to stay in the dorm during student teaching. I learned so much from her this year, and I feel like I have gained a friend. God worked it out so nicely, and we have told each other so many times. I am so thankful for my wonderful roomie and I shall miss her next year.

That brings me to the issue of next year's roommate, Melanie. She is my friend who spent the year in Israel. Yes, an ocean and time zone separated us, but in God's sovereignty, it brought us closer together. Even though Melanie was not physically present during the hard times, I would send her e-mails about my day and it made me feel better, She always knew what to say, and it was amazing to hear about her own experiences in Israel. We are both excited about rooming together next year, and learning more about our God. He used this to teach both of us so much. I was also able to mend a broken friendship. Well I didn't do the mending, God did. My roomie from last year has also been a blessing. Through phone calls and getting together over breaks, the Lord has blessed me through another friendship.

Classes this year have been amazing. I have really enjoyed my teaching method classes. The observations, lesson plans and projects are sometimes overwhelming, but I have learned so much through them. I am starting to experience a little anxiety about next year's student teaching, but I really do love it. The Lord has also given me a peace this year that kept me from getting to stressed out. I also have developed many new friendships this year that have proved a blessing.

I have also learned many life lessons about forgiveness, letting go of the past and giving God control. There are so many more things I could share about this wonderful school year, but I pray this is testimony enough. God is so great and without Him, I am nothing. I do not need things to go my way because His ways are better than mine. What an awesome God we serve!