Good week.

It has been such a good week. The closest I have felt to peace in a long, long time. The closest I have felt to abounding joy in months. It has been busy, yet restful, demanding, yet rewarding. I know that no one reads this, because I haven't really told anyone about it or given out the URL, but maybe for the 1.5 of you that do end up reading it, you will find encouragement. That is my prayer.

There was nothing hugely special about this week. I had classes, babysat, studied, worked, took Raleigh on a few walks, did some cooking, etc. But, somehow over the course of this week I was able to find deep joy in lots of little things, I was able to find rest and peace in the promises dad has made to me (none of which are new). I was able to have a much more eternal perspective this week than I have in a long time. I want to hold on to that. I never want to let that go.

It started with knowing that others were praying for me. I am beginning the process of support raising for an internship I am doing this summer (with the same church I worked with last summer), and I got to meet my team last weekend. We had a mini orientation to get a bunch of information about the summer. I already love them all. We started an email chain to keep each other updated on fund raising, prayer requests, and just life. I am committed to lifting each of my future team members up in prayer, and I believe that each of them are just as committed. I have also been gathering addresses and to send out a letter soon. It has been such a huge blessing to talk to people who are so excited to support me and pray for me! Like, whoa. I don't deserve this kind of love. I have felt totally wrapped up by everyones support as they continually point me back to my savior. I have some pretty great people in my life. I am so thankful for each and every one of them.

It continued with my classes. I am a social work major. I have been for a few semesters. It's tough stuff. So many sad stories, so many heartbreaking injustices, and just so much brokenness in our country and across the world. As I have learned more and more about the way our country works in regards to social welfare and social work in general, I have grown more and more excited about my major. Not because our system is perfect by any means (it's not at all), but because it gets to be my job to bring people hope, to empower them, and to give them the tools they need to succeed. It gets to be my job to love people, to meet them where they are and to love them if for no other reason, than because they bear the image of God (they don't teach us that part in class...). There are things I'm not excited about: dealing with lack of funding, myself not getting paid well, not being taken seriously by society and even some people close to me, all of my insecurities and baggage that I bring to the table, working with clients that just don't want to work with me, and a million other things, but at the end of the day I get to make it my job to help people, and I don't know any other way to do that than by loving people well. There are days that I think to myself, "There is no way I am going to be able to handle this stuff in the real world." Then I get my act together and remember that I will never have to. At least not by myself. I get to go into communities (with Jesus) and be his hands, his feet, and hopefully his mouth. I realize that anyone can do this, in just about any major or job field, but it's been fun for me, on my journey to sit in class and see ways that I can help spread the kingdom on this earth, ways that I can bring hope to the hopeless.

It grew when the weather started getting nice. This sounds so shallow, but I have felt God wooing me with this beautiful weather. I love the cold and all things winter, but I love the transition back into warm-ness. It is SO MUCH EASIER for me to get up in the mornings when it is not -2 outside. I love being able to sit outside on the porch in the morning and drink coffee. I love feeling the sunshine on my face as I walk to class. It's like as the earth renews itself, so does my spirit. I feel revitalized, and captivated by God's creation. So lame, I know, but so true. I love it.

It, this goodness I have rambled on about, has manifested itself in a bunch of other ways as well. I could go on and on about how precious this time has been to me, and I kind of have. This week I am thankful. This week I am humbled. This week I am loved. This week I am in awe of my father's goodness. I pray that I would continue to go hard after those things, even when they are not as easy to find, because I bet they're always there, waiting for me. I am so lucky. I am so blessed. I am so undeserving. I love that no matter what, I can always lean on those truths.

Thanks for the great week, full of love and peace. On to the next.