it’s only wednesday?

When I said in my last post that I loved the last weeks of the semester, I had yet to experience this one. Four and a half hours of outside of normal class lab time, 4 failed sets of plates, one lost (and later found) set of car keys, and a pretty solid freak out (hyperventilation included) later, I’m not singing quite the same tune. And that was just Monday.

Tuesday picked up in major ways, and brought some trouble of its own, but I won’t focus on that part. Tuesday morning I drove my roommate’s car to school and showed up in the lab 20 minutes before my normal 8 a.m. lab time, hoping that I could use the extra minutes to convince my instructor that my bad plates could work. Only, he wasn’t there at 20 till 8… or at 8:15 for that matter. We found a janitor to unlock the press room for us and when I stepped in, there they were with all of their glorious flair, my keys. Relief.

As we fought our way through the normal woes of being a graphics major during the last week of the semester. I finally made it to press after remaking my plates at 11:30. (My lab was over at 10:45 just for a little context on that one.) Our complete projects were scheduled to be presented on Thursday morning at 8 a.m., needless to say, I had a lot to get acccomplished in that small amount of time. Then my instructor decided to move our presentations to next Wednesday, giving us a whole extra lab period. Relief.

He also sent out an email announcing that he would be waiving our 10, 15-minute clean-ups for the semester because he hadn’t done a good job of keeping up with them. I had not completed one single clean-up yet. Relief.

Running into so many “there’s no way I could possibly…” situations, I was getting pretty frustrated to put things lightly. At the end of all those situations was the same thing: relief. That makes me think of what God’s been teaching me a lot about lately: grace. Life is full of “there’s no way I could possibly…” situations, yet there is ALWAYS grace. Grace is our relief.

Some verses God was graceful enough to give me that morning:

“Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness…

The LORD gives strength to his people;

the LORD blesses his people with peace.”

Psalm 29:1,2,11

there they are in their rightful place. good stuff.

here comes the sun…

I really do love the last few weeks of the spring semester. It’s a glorious free-for-all of delirious, out-of-their-head students and equally exhausted professors, which makes for some pretty entertaining exchanges. Don’t believe me?

PUBLIC SPEAKING:

While a group gave their speech on male/female non-verbal communication…

Student: What exactly would be a male gesture?

Other Student: This. *Beats fists on chest*

COMMERCIAL PRINTING:

Professor: Has anyone in here ever stuck their hand in a bucket of anti-setoff powder?

*Hand shoots up*

Professor: Okay, yeah. What did it feel like?

Student: Like touching a cloud.

SOCIOLOGY:

Professor: No, the final isn’t cumulative. Does anyone remember what conspicuous consumption means?

*One hand shoots up*

Professor: Really, only one person? Okay. What does it mean?

Student: Oh… I thought it was what I’m doing now.

Professor: Um. What are you doing now?

*Holds up a half eaten muffin, previously hidden by the table*

See I told you. haha Hold on guys. We’re almost to summer.

at last.

I finally have an internship. Funny how God’s timing works. When I acknowledged him as totally in control and felt a peace about him working out the situation, there come the internships. Hooray! This one is in Greenville, paid (whoot!), and screen printing (which is probably my favorite). : ) I’m really excited about actually getting to be at home with my family and friends this summer and about having a job that pays, not only cash, but relevant experience. Praise Jesus! He’s the best.

I feel like this guy adequately expresses my excitement…

Keep on hoping. It’s worth it. God has the right thing in mind… just you wait.

what are you waiting for?

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. -Ecclesiastes 3:9-11

I remember finding this verse in my junior year of high school when a lot of my friends were  graduating and moving on to college. I was frustrated with the fact that I was stuck back in high school and eager to move on to the next great adventure. With this verse I found peace in God’s timing. At that point I had no idea just how vital that peace would be in my life in the next few years and how many times I would have to learn that lesson over and over again.

Four years later, I find myself in that very same place. Seeing friends and family moving to the next step in life and preparing to make big moves and major life decisions, while I am still guaranteed another year at this fine institution that I love, most days anyway. My heart is beginning to get restless, longing for adventure outside of the brick walls of Godfrey Hall. But I must pay my dues. My time here at Clemson isn’t finished yet. God is making this experience wonderful and beautiful in its time, in the time HE has laid out for it.

In my most impatient circumstances, such as my search for an internship that should start in 3 weeks, I have to keep in mind that my walk with God is a process. He is making it beautiful on the time line he has laid out. Each circumstance,wonderful or heartbreaking is perfectly orchestrated by the one that has all my days written in his book. He is completely sovereign and I’m so glad it’s not up to me.