"This Week the Trend...

.. was to borrow all the strength that You could lend to keep my head above the water and not descend back to where I said I'd never go again." In these, the renowned lyrics of the playlist of reminiscent Relient K tunes echoing through my mind from years past, I find a bit of a summary of my past week.

A whirlwind of epic proportions, I must admit that when I reflect upon these last few days, little sticks out in my mind. It was an enjoyable, yet draining, blur of classes, projects, and routine. This being said, do not misunderstand me - A LOT HAPPENED. And yet, it seems that, for once, I don't feel the need to completely break everything down for you all. Suffice it to say that we had class (Old Testament Literature, to be exact), which I quite loved this time around, and that we had a massive-sized group creative project involving the whole class making a narrative video summary of the entire Old Testament. This ended up meaning many hours of class, many hours of script writing, many hours of filming, and many hours of editing, to result in a most splendid exposé that I feel sure our class will appreciate from time to time as years go on. It appealed to the comic in each of us, and gave us the coveted opportunity to look back at Christmas pageants of our childhoods and model our apparel thereafter. Fun stuff. Check the vid, up soon on our class blog: www.kaleosix.blogspot.com. On another note, this week was a nice opportunity, with the onslaught (or at least prospective promise) of spring on the horizon, to enjoy the burgeoning type of weather that prompts hikes, trampoline photo shoots, and running adventures that bring you quite incidentally sliding on your backside down miniature cliff waterfalls. Good times all around.

And yet, here I must return to Relient K. As great as the week was, it was also exhausting and busy and overwhelming, as I'm discovering many a week to be in this crazy program. I love it all, and yet, sometimes I find myself grappling and reaching to grab hold of something steadfast and firm and reeking of even the slightest trace of relaxation or rest. Over and over again, I find myself striving, in imperfect human effort, to conquer the world and every responsibility I can fit under my belt all on my own. I get bogged down, and yet, strive towards this persona of strength and ultra-control that forces me to invent masks of independence and power that I am hopeless to maintain. I am realizing that for years now I have been whipping out these masks, as I struggle through even the simplest of challenges, and so, I am now learning to retire the masks in recognition of the more favorable option of being real and vulnerable and afraid for the first time. I am not a fan of this process, but Christ has been lending me the strength I need - the strength I never really had anyways but tricked myself into thinking I did. And in this, there is reason to rejoice; there is light to be seen; there are challenges, and even schedules, to be conquered. He brings me rest and peace, and yet implants within me an eager expectancy of things to come. He places in me the yearning to wait on Him for His perfect timing, yet to do so enthustiastically in the promise that I am not waiting for naught. And so, it was in this knowledge that I approached the weekend, and continue to attempt to approach my days - in knowing that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.

And so, we enter Sunday. For once, I did not have the overbearing pressure of an impending homework assignment looming over my head, so the day was much more relaxing and enjoyable. Following the morning service, my fellow church-goers and I travelled into Vic for the day to eat lunch at a friend's, then headed back to Cobblehill for the usual Bridge routine. I feel like I'm beginning to say much the same thing about this each week, so starting this coming week, I'm going to try to speak to this a bit more in depth; I'm going to try to consider Christ's work in that place and in my presence there a bit more. For now, though, no more to say than that the Lord continues to challenge and grow me here. He continues to make me fall in love with the people of this tiny church. He continues to force me to lean on Him. He continues to move and work in hearts, and to show His unparalleled power. All praise be to Him.

Love and hugs,
Jess

p.s. - Please pray for my room... we were disqualified from a room cleaning contest for being too messy. Go figure. haha. We are now in clean mode, and struggling to keep it so. Thank-you. Also, continued prayers for me as I decipher my plans for the summer and next school year would be greatly appreciated. Moreover, my NYC missions team would also love your prayer support, and I would love some prayer for prioritizing and healthful amounts of sleep. Many thanks again! I love you all.