Wow.
Finals week of spring 2015, I can hardly believe I made it. What a journey this
year has been. It feels like it has gone by agonizingly slow and yet in the
blink of an eye. Funny the way time passes, so slowly and then all at once,
that you have a hard time grasping the change. I am completing a school year of
trials. I started the year in probably the most horrible place someone could
begin a school year, however I am ending the school year a much stronger
individual. I am still in shock. How could I possibly be here in April 2015?
Was I not just packing to come back to school for another school year
yesterday? How has so much time passed since then? I simply can’t wrap my mind
around it.
Through
the trials, so much good has come. I have made friends that I never would have
had before. I learned what it is like to live in an apartment, and what it is
like moving out of one. I learned that family can make some of your best
friends. It’s okay to change and experience new kinds of things. Test out the
waters. Take a risk. You might hate it, but you might love it. Life happens
when you are willing to step out of your comfort zone. If you want to get a
tattoo, get a tattoo. If you want to work at a summer camp all summer, do it. You
are only going to grow if you challenge yourself to be more than you were
yesterday.
You
will only grow if you are nourished. I have been nourished this year. So much
love has been poured out on me and so much life has sprouted. Yes, there were
many days of drought. Yes, it was a very rough start. God has brought me here,
He never left my side. On the many days of pain and anguish, he sent His love
in the form of family, friends, and sunny afternoons. He has been faithful. He
is allowing me to tell his story through my struggle, and I could not be more
grateful.
This
year I found out who I am, without anyone else being part of that identity. I
learned that my identity is found in the love of Christ, not in a relationship
status. I learned that Kory isn’t static; she is dynamic and ever changing,
ever growing. Kory is not predictable. She may even do things that are
unexpected, and that is OK. Through the uncharted territory, I have found that
there is so much more to life than what I originally thought. I don’t have to
be what I planned for so many years. I can change my mind and try new things
and make new plans. Life is not set in stone, and neither am I. God will not be
finished shaping me until the day I meet him in the sky. I have my whole life
to learn, try, experience, and live the life He has for me. How liberating it
is to know that I am not stuck in one place, I am free to move about and see
the world created by my God. How wonderful is it that I am not defined by a
hometown, by a stereotype, by a boy. How beautiful is it that I am known as a
child of God destined to live out His plan for me.
As
much as I would like to erase the pain and the trials of this school year, I
most certainly would never want to lose the lessons I have learned. As I
venture out into more uncharted territory as a camp counselor for the summer, I
know God will use my experience for His glory. My experience will relate to
campers who need to see the love of Christ. He makes all things work together
for my good, and for others. He has nourished my soul and shown me hope. Junior
year at Corban University was anything but easy, but it was worth it. Praise
Jesus for His unending mercy and love, and his footprints in the sand. He has
carried me through.
