The magic is around us

Yesterday I went to bed and I feel like overnight the whole world blossomed. This morning it was all gloomy outside, but when I left work at lunchtime it was finally starting to clear up, and then I looked around. The sky was a little blue, and there was life in all of the trees. This is one of my favorite times of the year because everything is SO pretty. The little trees lining the parking lot at work all had their green little blossoms, and all of the trees on my way home had varieties of pinks, whites, and greens opening up to start their new life for the year.

Today in class, my teacher made us stop looking at the computer screens and come over to the window. The tree outside the building was starting to bloom, and the little green buds on it are her favorite thing to see. The wonderful thing is, it's not only just that tree doing that, it's all around us.

Nature is so amazing. It doesn't even asked to be looked at and its many times something we take for granted. The sunrises and sunsets are always beautiful, but so are the signs of new life on the trees, the acorns lying on the ground for squirrels to snack on, the changing leaves in the fall. The leaves and seasons change, and you know what? Life keeps going on.. There's endings, but there's also new beginnings each year when spring rolls around.

On a scale of 1-10, I'm probably a negative number when it comes to how much I enjoy even a small "see-ya later." So this whole graduating and being more than a mile from my closest friends, yeah.. I"m not looking forward to that. My co-workers at work who I've been lucky enough to become close with, that'll be a great time as well.  

This morning I opened my email at work and one of the ladies in my department had sent me an email after I published my last department newsletter. It wasn't anything big, but part of it read ".. You have such a tender-heart and I know we share a connection as sister’s in Christ and that connection has kept me going many times!  I didn’t get a chance to ask you about your interview last week but I am confident God will lead, guide and use you uniquely for His special Hilary-designed purpose. :)" 

So how do I even begin to think of leaving these people? The people who encourage me, are there for me, who make me laugh, and that I enjoy every second with. That I've been around so often the past few years and some even months, but it seems so much longer. I don't. I try not to think about it, not until I have to. I do walk down the hallway at work and think about how I'll only be there 8 more days. I walk to class and look at all the trees and think of how this is somehow my last week of walking this campus in the spring. I go somewhere with my friends and try not to think that soon we'll be who knows how far apart. It's natural for me though, I'm not a huge fan of change. When I get comfortable, I'd rather everything stay the same. If I could, I would just hang out on a Friday night watching a series on Netflix or go out to get coffee and bake the weekend away. It's what I'm used to and it's what I enjoy, so why change it?

But, time doesn't stop or slow down for anyone. And life  is getting real. Real quick. And as scary as it seems, all of this beauty in the new life around me reminds me that it'll be just fine. No matter where life takes me, wherever it takes my friends, wherever it takes my co-workers, whatever major changes I have to deal with, it'll be okay. I got on Pinterest today and somehow it always knows the perfect "suggestions" for me. 

I love quotes, and I love song lyrics. I love anything that I can relate to that can describe how I'm feeling at that exact moment. This little quote popped up today like it knew I'd be having feelings like this. As crazy as it seems, the unknown in the future is becoming less scary. I know that whatever God has planned, it'll be. I can't do anything to change it. I know that I'll eventually find a job I love, a home, a husband, have a family, and meet lots of new people along the way, but all in his timing. Unknown things are scary, but I'm also beginning to feel more excited with each day about the new beginnings that are unfolding in this crazy life. 

Take a look around. The trees wouldn't be bursting with life today if it weren't for the rain the past few days. Life isn't always going to be the sunny paradise that we want. We're going to have dark days, we're going to want to cry, we're going to feel lonely and afraid, but it won't last forever. 2 Timothy 1:7 says "For God did not give us a Spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." So regardless of how life is right now, we have the power from God within us to persevere. The rain will pass, and what will come is something that is greater than you could have ever imagined. 

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