Skip to main content

Summer Reflections

I'm starting my senior year of college next Monday. How in the world am I old enough for that?! Sometimes, I feel like I've lived a lifetime. Others, I still feel like a kid. Today, I'm definitely feeling like a child, not old enough to be living on my own, handling my medical care, being less than a year away from graduating college and (Lord willing) starting grad school, and having friends getting married. Yet here I am, and all those things are a reality in my life. Time is a funny thing; you don't notice its passing until you look back to see how far you've come. 

Looking back over these past three years of college, I can see how much I've grown and changed. I'm no longer the same person I was in high school. For example, I was a Christian in high school, but I have grown so much in my faith in college. I've learned what it means to trust God in every single circumstance. God has developed in me a love for the Bible that wasn't nearly as fierce in high school, and I have a desire to serve others more intentionally and selflessly than ever before. I was also a natural leader in high school; people looked up to me and respected my God-given authority in band, PALs, and academics. However, I am beginning to understand what it means to lead by example, to put others first, and to sacrifice my own desires and wants. In high school, I didn't understand the difference between happiness and joy. In college, I've gone through the most severe period of loneliness I could ever imagine, health crises beyond belief, and intense feelings of seemingly uncontrollable anxiety. Yet God has developed in me a joy that comes from knowing Christ and drinking deeply in the pool of His unending peace and love that is present in the good times and the bad. 

Yes, time is indeed a funny thing. I am so excited about what this next and final year of college has in store for me! A year from now,or even 10 years from now,  it will be interesting to look back and see how God will use my senior year experiences to shape the woman I am becoming. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CF Letter 2020

Dear friends and family, It's May 2020, which means it is another CF Awareness month and another time to talk about all the amazing things happening in the CF world! This has been a very good year in the CF community. In October of 2019, Trikafta was approved by the FDA for all people with CF with at least one copy of the dF508 mutation. 90% of people with CF have at least one copy of this specific mutation. This is a HUGE deal in the CF community because it is one of a handful of drugs that addresses the underlying cause of CF and the only drug that such a huge percentage of people with CF can take. Trikafta is a total game-changer for so many, including me. I have gained stability, I require fewer IV antibiotics, I gained lung function I thought was long gone, and I feel like I can plan things in my life again. The hard work of the CF Foundation, willing researchers who continue to search for a cure and medicines that will increase quality of life, and the generous donations fr
2 comments
Read more

CF Letter 2019

Dear friends and family, I hope you all are having a happy and healthy 2019! The Great Strides CF Walk is just around the corner, and we are gearing up for a great walk day! Since my last CF Walk letter, my health has had its ups and downs. Just before the CF walk last year, I got the sickest I have been in awhile and had to fight off pneumonia with the help of 4 weeks of IVs. I also had to do IV antibiotics in August and November. However, I have stayed relatively healthy in 2019, and for that, I am extremely grateful! Although I’ve had to fight off 2 colds, my body has been able to get through it without needing IV antibiotics. While I know I will need another round of IVs eventually, I am thoroughly enjoying being IV free. I credit this to the amazing CF therapies available to me, my compliance to my treatments, and all of your prayers for my health. I continue to take 30+ pills a day including enzymes to digest my food, vitamins and supplements that my body cannot absorb
4 comments
Read more

The spirit of giving

It’s the end of 2017. That means it’s time to send in those end of year donations. Want to give to some amazing charities actually doing good in the world? I’ve compiled a list for you!  The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation- Obviously, I’m biased toward CFF. They fund amazing research that is saving people’s lives! Don’t you want to be part of that? Not only that, but 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to advocacy and CF research. If you donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, you know your money is going to be spent wisely and is going to make a difference. Since cystic fibrosis is an orphan disease (that means it’s really, really rare), people with CF rely on your donations to fund research. As well, Congress just cut the orphan drug tax credit, meaning companies are not going to get as much incentive for studying orphan diseases and creating drugs to treat them. The CF Foundation needs people like you to donate to CF research so we can find a cure for CF SOON. —www.cff.org
1 comment
Read more