Well it seems I've gotten a bit behind...
A few things have happened since the last time I posted on this lovely site.
I flew to Tacoma, Washington to spend Christmas with my boyfriend and his wonderful family.
That boyfriend became my fiancé.
I've since attended two engagement parties, my candlelight ceremony, a weekend retreat for middle and high schoolers, countless sorority meetings, and a new semester full of classes.
I've rejoiced over planning about my future with my husband-to-be, the joining of our two families, reunions and phone calls with my sweet friends, both from Furman and Tampa, more time spent with the wonderful girls of PCPC, an amazing apartment, now complete, snow days, the greatest birthday present of all, and the constant love that the Lord covers me with.
I've struggled with being far from my fiancé for weeks at a time, staying motivated for the remaining year of school, and semi-stressful decisions for the coming year.
All-in-all, it's been a beautiful winter, full of excitement and growth, with its fair share of challenges, but I am thankful for the strength I've been given and the relationships that hold me up when I am in need.
Being engaged has ushered me into a new season of life that I cherish very much. I now can express more fully my excitement over this wonderful boy I'll soon call my husband. I am thrilled to be able to spend the remainder of my days alongside this man I adore. However, in no way do I expect marriage to be easy. I expect there will be struggles, disagreements, misunderstandings, let downs, hardships and confusion along the way. In the same way, I expect to overcome these things together with my husband as we are renewed and constantly brought back to the foot of the cross. I expect to never feel so aware of my sin as I will in marriage. I also expect to grow more and more into the woman I was created to be, with my husband and I each desiring to make one another more beautiful for the purposes of the Lord. I could use each of your prayers (if I have any readers...) for our hearts to be continually prepared for the adventure that we will begin in less than eleven months!
However, another new season of life is beginning: SPRING. As a Floridian, I never took much notice of spring. When skies are blue and clear year-round, florals are never out of style, and my toes regularly see sunlight. However, this mystical time of year called "winter" (of which Frozen can make me appreciative only to a certain extent...) has made springtime the most beautiful and highly anticipated season of the year. I cannot wait to access the hanging clothes in my closet again, to perhaps even break out the sunglasses, and to not be the red-nosed girl jogging in her backpack to escape the wind.
Spring is coming. And for the first and only time, I'm going to reference Song of Solomon on this blog in order to properly express my excitement:
"Look around you: Winter is over;
the winter rains are over, gone!
Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
The whole world’s a choir—and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
with sweet arpeggios.
Lilacs are exuberantly purple and perfumed,
and cherry trees fragrant with blossoms."
...and we'll stop there.
Song of Solomon 2:11-13 MSG
Let's also make "arpeggios" a regular part of our vocabulary.
Happy new seasons to you all!
