Summer: The Lord's Test

To any of the lovely people who read my blog, again sorry it has been so long since my last post. Finals week had me a little preoccupied. But on that note, I would like to fill you all in on this up coming summer: what it will look like and the challenges it will bring for me.
First off, is what I will be doing with my summer. Basically, I will be on the go from day one...which was yesterday. I started my summer out by running a 10k; I had a blast! I will be running another one later this summer while I am in London. Other than running, I will be spending the weekdays at work, working 40 hour weeks at an office. Luckily I only have 32 days of work! (counting down much) I also get the privilege of returning to Lexington once a week and even get to spend a weekend there fulfilling my duties as a Young Life leader. This will include time with some of the awesome friends that I have made this past school year.
Now on to the good stuff. At the end of May I get to take a road trip with some friends to a Young Life property in Michigan (Timberwolf) for Leader Weekend. I will then be spending the last week in June at Sharp Top Cove, another Young Life Property, but this one is in Georgia. This time I will be a leader at camp! It will be my first camp experience at YL camp on the other side, and I am so excited! After camp, I get to spend three days at home resting and packing for my month long Study Abroad Trip to London, England! It is going to be a blast and such a great experience! Once I get back, I will be going straight back to UK to spend the last two weeks of my summer attending Spirit Week and Recruitment with my Phi Mu sisters.
As you can tell, I am going to be very busy this summer. With this being said, I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about all of the challenges, yet rewarding experiences that this summer has to offer. Each of the things that I will struggle with or am blessed with this summer will make me a stronger person and strengthen my relationship with Christ.
First are the challenges. There are the going to be various things that I will have to lean on the Lord for to get me through this summer. These include things like working in an office and for my mom (really not my first choice, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.) I am by no means saying I don't like my mom; I love her, we just have very different organization and work styles, and considering the fact that she is my boss, well it will be an adventure. Another challenge will be to strongly uphold my relationship with Christ this summer in all that I do. This may be hard because my community at home and my community in Lexington at UK are very different. At home there are many temptations that could take me back to the person I was before I left for college. I have made a pretty big change in my life since I left for school: I have really started trying to chase after Christ in everything that I do. So, as you may infer, this has really changed me. It will be a challenge to be home this summer because it will be my first long stretch of time away from the people who were there during this drastic change in my life. While I am home, I will be able to keep in contact with the people who so largely impacted me in Lexington, but when I am in London things will be a bit more difficult; another challenge in which I will really have to lean on my relationship with Christ.
Finally, I am at the many rewarding opportunities I will have this summer. To start off, I am taking the challenges above and looking at the silver lining, they will give me the chance to make my relationship with Christ significantly stronger. Then there are the opportunities that I have to spend at Young Life camps this summer: I get to spend a total of a week and a half investing in the Lord in my life and students lives! I will get to reflect on what He has done for me, help others to hopefully catch His vision, and love others with my whole heart in some of the most peaceful places in the US: YL properties. These are going to be amazing experiences in which I will be able to escape the world for multiple days, and I will get to learn a lot about myself while helping others learn about Him! Sounds completely amazing if you ask me, but hey, that is why I am doing it! Last is my trip to London. Not only do I get the opportunity to go to one of the most historically filled cities in the world, but I also get to learn about theatre for a month. Other than the immediate learning experiences, I get to experience cultures from all around the world because we are taking weekend trips to Paris and Edinburgh, and the Olympics will be in London during the end of my stay. For me, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I get to experience the world coming together for what I believe is one of the few semi-peaceful things we can do together, sporting events! I will also have the chance to take in what the world has to offer since I believe there is so much more out there than what I have already seen. Since I will no only one other person in London, it will also provide me with the chance to really branch out to figure out who I want to be and what I want to be passionate about while I am here on earth.
So, all in all, I am looking at this summer as an opportunity to learn a lot about myself, the world around me, what the Lord has provided for me, His beautiful creations, and a chance to grow with Him. I can't wait to see where this summer takes me in my journey on God's blue marble, but I know, no matter what, if I am always leaning on the Lord, I will grow tremendously this summer!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

P.S.- Sorry about the longevity of this post!