FINALly FINished!

Hey y'all!

I have officially completed my first semester of college! It was was rough, there is no doubt about it, but as it has come to an end, I've been able to see more clearly all the blessings with in it. I have learned quite a bit about myself and how I fit into the "real world". The Lord further developed my character as I experienced all the new difficulties associated with college. I've also gained friends that will last a lifetime.

Contrary to what I was expecting, my last two weeks of the semester weren't near as stressful as I had imagined. I spent basically all of my time with friends, except for the few times I was diligent enough to study. We had ugly Christmas sweater parties, Christmas in Cotton Plant adventures, gift exchanges, movie nights, snow days, and study breaks. I kept my self super busy but was trying to fit in as much time as I could with friends I wouldn't get to see for the next month. And boy can I say how great it is to have friends that I will miss, especially in comparison to how I had none at the beginning of the school year. When it came down to actually taking my finals I wasn't exactly confident (probably due to the lack of studying) but thankfully I passed all of classes with the grades I needed. I did however get my first ever C in Calculus so we're still kind of coping with that.

I want to share a verse that really encapsulates this last semester.

"But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV

Throughout these last few months God's faithfulness in love and sovereignty became ever so apparent to me. Through every struggle I had comfort in knowing that God loves me, has a plan for me, and that He has the sovereignty and power to put it into action. My two main struggles were relationships and calculus and the Lord provided in both. I love looking back on how God pulled me out of loneliness on campus into friendships that I cherish so greatly. I cannot stress enough how much I struggled with calculus and I wish I could tell the whole story, but besides all of the obstacles, I ended up finishing with the grade I needed (even though I doubted many times). The second part of the verse talks about establishment and protection. Through the many things I went through and participated in the during this semester, the Lord was establishing me in life and on campus. Without me truly even knowing, I was establishing my personality and the way everyone around me viewed me and knew me. It also says that the Lord will protect. I was well aware that by going to Ole Miss I would be presented with many attacks for my beliefs. Thankfully they have yet to be as terrible as I expected, then again, it is only the first semester. Through every attack I have received either because of my faith in Christ or my strong conservatism, the Lord has displayed his protection in amazing ways. I am so so so so thankful for that.

I am so thrilled that this semester is over but I am just as excited to see how the lessons I have learned will further be developed in the semester to come.