Summer's Out for the School Year!

Well, the summer is nearing to an end. In exactly a week from today, I will be back on OCC grounds. Let's see, how should I spend my last days of summer? OH yes, most of it will be spent driving. My sister and I leave early tomorrow morning to begin our long journey back to Joplin, MO. It's really crazy to think sometimes, how fast time just flies. I spent this summer at home reading books, learning to wakeboard, being a youth leader and going to camps, turning the big 19, hanging out with little kids at the science museum, working on a farm, and spending loads of time with the family. I spent even more time laying around the house and doing almost nothing. But you know, sometimes it's good to do nothing.

Now if you want to get all spiritual on me and tell me that I need to make the most of every day, then go ahead. I realize that there's lots more I could be doing other than just sitting at home, but I think it's good to have time to ourselves. I just spent an entire year on nothing but working my tailbone off trying to get good grades and become a better singer and make lots of friends and such. This summer has been good for me because I got to rest (something I lack when having a schedule). There were times this past year when I felt that I was doing nothing but my school work. I felt I never had time for myself. I know that's not necessarily true because I did spend a considerable amount of time with my friends and what-not, but at the end of each activity I ever did, I always had more homework to attend to. I was exhausted most of the time.

And I finally got to rest this summer. I finally got to do whatever it was that I wanted to do. I spent alot of time at home thinking. I like to think about life and stuff, and sometimes thinking about such things, for me at least, requires no agenda. At school, there was always an agenda and the things I normally thought about were "When am I ever going to find time to study for tomorrow's test?" or "To do homework? Or not to do homework?" I almost always ended up doing my homework. Just ask my old roommate, Stephanie. Sometimes she'd get onto me for always doing homework. She'd tell me I needed to get a life or something. And you know what, alot of the times she told me to stop doing homework, I should have. Stephanie didn't want me to do bad in school or anything, but she became concerned about my well being because I never gave myself time to do something other than homework.

And these past few months I didn't have one ounce of homework to worry about. Woohoo! I had all the time in the world to be worry-free and to enjoy time with myself.

While the summer has been quite the vacay, I am so ready at this point to be back at school. As much as I love doing nothing, I love the feeling of having work to do, having goals to accomplish, even if the goal is to simply get an A on tomorrow's test. I love to be driven. I am so excited to learn even more this year: to become a better disciple, a better musician, a better person. I can't wait to see all my old friends and to make new ones.

God really showed up this past year at school in the midst of my busy schedule and he showed up this summer in the midst of doing nothing. No matter what I'm doing, whether it's homework or sitting at home reading a book, God still shows up. I wonder how he'll do it this time around.