"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."
If you haven't ever taken the time to read Ecclesiastes 3, I suggest you do. It is a beautiful passage, and I cannot help but read it and think of how it applies to my life.
As you get older, time gets faster. This concept always seems to hit me on nights like these. The nights where I have a list of things to do, but somehow I always get caught up reflecting on how the many ways God has blessed me.
This past year has truly been one that I will never forget. A year ago, I was a high school senior who had just found out she had been hired to work at her favorite place in the world. I pleaded and begged God to see that time would just speed up so that I could graduate and begin work. What senior doesn't wish that time would pass quickly? Pass quickly it did, and it is hard to believe that in one year so much has changed.
a time to plant, a time to love
Summer 2012 was by far the best summer I have ever had. Working at Camp Deer Run was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Though at first I was worried and anxious about making the transition from camper to staff, God helped see me through and it was beyond smooth. Spending a summer loving children and sharing God's word was one of the best things I could have done before I left for college. Most of my friends spent their summers with their families and close friends, enjoying the last two months before our lives completely changed, but I can honestly say that I have no regrets in spending what could have been my last summer at home out in the piney woods at CDR. Now I can say that God used last summer to strengthen me for my transition in to college. 
a time to search, a time to build
Two weeks after the summer at CDR ended, I was moving into a dorm. Those two weeks in between were very difficult for me. I found it hard to be in public, especially when my family went for a Dallas weekend to buy last minute necessities for my dorm. I was overwhelmed and torn. I felt as if I was ripped from my safe-haven, escape from the world, and thrown right into the storm of society. Yet, I soon adjusted, and before I knew it, was driving down to College Station with a car jammed packed of my belongings.
Truthfully, there wasn't a rough period of adjusting as my family left me in a new town with only a handful of people I knew. I was confident that God had placed me at A&M for a reason, and was never felt as if I had made a mistake in coming to A&M. From the first day, I loved it! God had only begun to show me the story he had written for me. I made friends in AFC, learned a lot in some really difficult classes, learned to two-step, and ate a lot. Of course there were times I worried when I heard how my family was ill, but I had faith that God was comforting them as well as reassuring me.
a time to embrace, a time to mourn
Right as I was really enjoying life at college, Christmas Break came. I needed the break from school, but I was disappointed to say goodbye to the town and my new friends. God was so faithful and opened a door for a mission opportunity. 8 days of the break I spent in Nicaragua. For a first mission trip, I believe it was great. It was a beautiful thing to see how God worked through us, and how he used small children to help me learn things about myself. Sad to leave, but happy to know that God wasn't finished with me in the field of missions, I came back to the States and had a white Christmas with my family. New Year's was a sad one as my family mourned the loss of my great-grandmother. While we mourned we also rejoiced for the significant amount of time we had with her. Only a day after her funeral services, I was once again on the road to College Station to spend a week at Foster's Children's Home. If there is one highlight of my time in college so far, I would definitely say it has been the service opportunities through AFC. Giving back to others, especially children, has caused my heart to be overwhelmed with love and compassion. I will never understand how God allows us to love such small children so much, but I am so joyful that he allows me to experience his love in this manner.
He has made everything beautiful in its time
These are only a few highlights of my year, and it is so difficult to believe that my freshman year will be over in a matter of weeks. While classes have been hard and stressful, God has never once left my side in my journey. He is constantly by my side, whispering in my ear to lead me down his path of righteousness. I am humbled that God has provided me with such opportunities. Why I of all people have been blessed with such good friends, a supportive family, and such wonderful memories I do not know. All I can say is that I thank God every day for allowing me to serve him.
Serve him I will, which brings me around my circle. I once again will be working at Camp Deer Run. I am beyond excited to spend another summer in the piney woods, and I am even more excited to see the plans God has for this summer.
God is faithful. God is good. He has a time for everything as he says throughout the book of Ecclesiastes. With much deeper understanding, I am trying to live this passage. God is showing me his timing and I must say it is beyond beautiful.
