a short vacation...from life

i guess i should start with my trip to ga. i'm so glad that i decided to go. at first i was really worried that i wouldn't be able to pay for the gas and for everything else that goes with taking a trip. when jeremy told me that they were working on trying to see if they could pay us a little more, i decided that even if i broke even, it would be well worth it. and, i was right.

i planned on leaving sometime between 12-2 on thursday. i didn't leave until 4:45. but i made it south of atlanta in exactly 6 hrs. it was about 11 pm when i got to jeremy's house. we stayed up and talked for a while...about everything and nothing...weddings, bridesmaid dresses, tv shows, movies, camp, family, relationships, and friends. great times to be able to talk to someone face to face when i'm so used to talking to them on the phone.

the next morning we got up and headed to the church to get things ready. we spent time cleaning and setting up the area we were going to use for worship. then we headed to the kitchen to make a gazillion batches of cookies, brownies, and rice krispy treats. let's just say we had lots of fun making big messes while we used the industrial ovens to create our own baking masterpieces. well, they would have been...if either of us had known how to make rice krispy treats. we didn't realize that the marshmallow fluff and butter had to be cooked, so the 4 huge pans looked like rice krispy treat cereal...but that's another story. all the other stuff turned out great. apparently we can bake, but we can't make treats you don't bake (crystal, for some reason i thought about you making cookies in the dorm room).

by the time everyone else got there, i was so excited to see everyone! i got to spend the weekend with 4 people i was in charleston with last summer. it was so great to just be around people who genuinely love me. blue, emily, caroline, and jeremy. even though i hadn't talked to blue since camp and i hadn't talked to caroline since september, it doesn't matter. camp friends are so great because no matter where you are in your life, you're always able relate to each other because of that special summer you shared. it's been that way with everyone i've worked with. it wouldn't be strange to get a random email or phone call from someone from 3 years ago. it's almost like a bond that can't be broken. it's great to know that people really love you and want to know what's going on in your life, and that it's sincere. even if we don't keep in touch the way we want to, we still love each other. i talked to katie on the phone this weekend and she said "i know that i haven't talked to you since september, but i really just want you to know that i've been thinking about you. and everytime i do, i pray for you." that right there means as much to me as a phone call...just to know that someone is lifting you up in prayer. what an amazing thing.

it was so awesome to just be in the company of friends. to worship. to laugh. to invest in high school girls. to see the amazing way God uses situations. those are the desires of my heart, and my heart was blessed this past weekend.

it got me really excited about what is in store for me in mississippi this summer. i honestly wish i could pack my bags and head out now. but i know that i still have time here. i think that's the hardest part about preparing your heart for what's next. you so badly just want to jump on the next train out, sometimes it's easy to miss what's in front of you. it's soothing to know that may is around the corner and that i can actually say that i know what i'm doing, but it's hard because then i have to go back to the life of uncertainty...and it's not easy to digest. but for now, i'm going to continue to live in the present and just soak it up.