Hello Campus

I know I'm home because I have strung the Christmas lights in my dorm room.

Finally, I'm back at school, ready to start another year.  It's strange--looking back, I mean.  Barely a year ago, I was beginning my Freshman year.  It feels like I was a different person back then.  I don't say that in a bad way, but rather, I grew into my own person.  I guess time away from your hometown, your comfort zones, and small-town reputation will do that to you.
And here I am again.  I know, I know...  yaddah yaddah yaddah.
I will let you in on a little secret, though.  (Well, I suppose it's not exactly a well kept secret if I'm about to post in on the easily-accessible-to-anyone internet)  Oh well.  Here it goes:  I'm struggling.

I just have some big decisions to make, and I'm not entirely what God's plan is.  The church I'm going to is amazing.  The people are loving, and I know how desperate I am to have that fellowship.  I also know that several of the people who went there last year have left, and it's difficult to fathom so great a change.  I'm confident that the Lord will guide me through it, but looking ahead when all I see are empty seats in a sanctuary is intimidating.
I talked to my roommate about it last night, and I am so encouraged by her wisdom!  She said, "Sara, this is between you and God.  You can't let the people who aren't there anymore be what pulls you away.  People get called in and out of the ministry all the time, and as Christians, we have to be OK with that."  I'm so blessed to live with her.

My roommate, Melissa, is so creative!

 4 Delight yourself in the LORD ; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday. 7 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.   

Psalm 37:4-7

As I read this passage, I cannot help but feel an immense wave of peace wash over me.  When I first skimmed it, I won't lie--I was a tad bit confused.  "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."  What?  Start over.  How am I supposed to delight in the Lord?  And what if my desires aren't what He wants for me to have?  I mulled over this for a while and a book I've been reading began discussing this very concept.

Delight means to enjoy.  Delight means to long to be near the object of one's delight.  Delight means to be consumed with the life of another...I realized what the Lord wanted of me when He said, "Delight yourself in the Lord."  Jesus Wants my affection.  Jesus wants me to enjoy His presence.  Jesus desires my heart to be captivated with His glory and beauty. (Wilderness Skills for Women)

So shouldn't it only follow that when we delight in the Lord--when we are consumed with the life of Jesus-- that His desires become our own?

It really is a heart issue, and that's something I've really been convicted of lately.  I'm still amazed at how the Lord is using so many things in my life to show me this.  He is so good!

Regardless of where you are, or how your day is going, I hope and pray that you will find yourself delighting in the glory of God.  It's the best place to find rest.