Faithful in the Fray

Y’all. It has been a while. I have gone back and forth for about three months wondering what I was going to write about. I always feel the need to make it so profound and life-changing that I downplay what is going on in my day to day life.
A lot has happened since I last wrote my blog! I’m happy to report that after numerous blood tests I am completely healthy! My doctor even gave me a big A+ on my results that he mailed to my house, so if that doesn’t make you feel good I’m not sure what will. It surely doesn’t diminish the fact that I lost Everett, but it does make me feel better for when we start pursuing that road again. I’ve also been super consistent in going to the gym three days a week after work, which has been the absolute best thing for me. I’ve slowly began taking my body back and focusing on myself first, at least for that hour, and figuring out the rest as it comes.

  
Jeremy and I moved back in with my parents. All our stuff is in storage and we’re hanging out with them for a bit. It’s one crazy packed house. My sister, her hubs, my niece and their two golden’s live in the basement, then Jeremy and I in my old room, my parents in theirs and then my brother in his. Community living, it’s what we’re called to do, right? One of the main things we didn’t put into storage is our beloved table that we won last year before our wedding! I’m just so happy that it’s getting great use.
We’ve gone on trips to Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida and Tennessee. We saw beaches, rivers, pools, attended birthday parties, Fourth of July parties, saw friends we haven’t seen in ages, and lived life to the fullest.

  
Jeremy and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple and a week later I turned 23. It was such a beautiful time to reflect on the last year of marriage and how different it was from what we first expected. I know so many people fight like cats and dogs the first year of marriage but I can’t say that about Jeremy and I. We spent more time laughing, being lazy, going on adventures, and supporting one another than anything. We had an extremely rough year, one I wouldn’t wish on anyone, yet became so much stronger because of it. Did we have our days? Absolutely. But, what we’ve learned is that if we truly and honestly put the other first, no matter how tired or how selfish we want to be in that moment, the reward is so sweet.

Something that we’re super excited and nervous about is becoming Life Group leaders for the young adults at our church this year. It’s not something we’ve ever done before, and so we figured that we would give it a shot and see what happens. It should be really great to get together with everyone, those we know and those we don’t! We’ve already got some fun things up our sleeves for our get-togethers each month!

Finally, one of my favorite things in the world has started again, Wednesday night activities at church. For the last two years I have been a youth leader and while it’s a challenge, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love being a part of the student’s lives. I love that they call me, text me, message me, tweet me, and snapchat me at all hours of the day. I love that I can be relate-able while also speak truth over their lives in a way they may not have heard it before. I love that each week they’re learning something new, and they are hearing and experiencing the Lord in different ways. In a world that is so dark and full of evil, knowing that they are CHOOSING to surround themselves with light, even if just from the moment they enter to when they exit, I believe it will make an everlasting impact.

My hope is that this can help me kick start my writing wheels and begin again. Thanks for being so faithful. You have no idea how much it means to me!