packing up.

so i moved my little blog on over to wordpress.

http://carrieincollege.wordpress.com/

same name. new layout. new features.

go there. check it. enjoy. :)

the next chapter.

There's only one word that can sum this week up...

DONE!

You read that right! I'm officially done with school as of 6:45 on Wednesday night and today was my last day at work here in Birmingham. My junior year in college is officially... over.

As strange as it is to be almost done with college and know that in a year (or possibly six more months) i will be completely done with my undergraduate, off my parent's bill and completely on my own... I'm not as much of a worried-freaking out-nervous mess as I normally would be about something like this. At least for now that is.

See for the past few weeks, several people have said small remarks/comments that have been said around /to me not by the person, but by God, whether the person saying it knew it or not. You know those days when everything is falling apart and someone does the smallest favor or tells you that you look nice, and it makes your life? Well it's like that. Most of them have come up in conversation about school and my major, mostly from my mom and dad. But others have been out of the blue, random and from the most unlikely of people.

For example, a little old man I was volunteering with at a feeding center for tornado victims Monday morning began talking about being up at 5:30 in the morning and cooking lunch for tornado victims all for free. After joking about getting a raise, he told me...

"No matter what you do, you'll always work for the best boss,

Make the best salary in the world,

And have the best retirement plan anyone could wish for.

I'm not getting paid money right now, but I couldn't be any happier."

After choking back some tears of his comment and knowing the whole reason I was up that early in the morning, cooking not hundreds or thousand but hundreds of thousand of green beans, I felt more calm than I have in a very long time. Ever since I've truly accepted the whole idea of not worrying about my future and trusting that God has everything in control, life has fallen right into place, maybe not as I thought it would or hoped it would, but all as it needs to. All my exams went well, I was able to spend time with my friends before we all went home for the summer and the best of all... drum roll.....

 I got an internship!

I applied with Dothan Magazine back in March and had not heard anything until about a week ago... in the middle of finals. So I waited until my mind was clear to call yesterday and after a short phone interview I was offered the internship... to which I responded absofreakinlutely!! (not really.) But we can imagine. It may not be Southern Living or Glamour or Newsweek, but it's experience and it's at home. Which is a plus, plus. I'm getting to write and learn everything about the magazine, so to sum it up... I'm pumped. Look for your local Dothan Magazine this summer and hopefully I'll have my first published piece in it! (fingers crossed.)

So that's that. School's done. Work at Jack N Jill is done (for now). And my summer is set.

All that's left is packing the small mountain of clothes that have accumulated in my closet into suitcases and heading south.

Next time I write it will definitely be from home, in my bed or the couch and most likely talking to my parents about extremely important matters (a.k.a. my mom's routine reality show round-up/ Days of our Lives) over some sort of delicious food that I haven't had in like a year.

ahhhhh. Get ready Dothan. I. cannot. wait.

this would be me. jumping for joy. :)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; your body, what you will wear... Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25, 34

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you." 

Phillipians 4:6-9

i will hold on hope.

Recently I've been feeling extremely anxious. I'm so close to going home, being done with finals and having a whole summer of relaxation, that I've gotten ahead of myself and have been on a "I'll get this done without your help God, thanks though" streak. That is until around 5:45 pm on Wednesday April 27th.

For those of you who aren't from around Alabama who read this, or those of you who for some reason may not know, a huge storm came through northern AL and neighboring states last Wednesday leaving mass destruction, homes and material items destroyed, loved ones missing, a staggering death count and a constantly growing number of missing persons. This storm is reported to be one of the largest natural disasters in the United States in a very long time, possibly since the depression. Several communities were wiped off the map and numerous large cities are completely dilapidated. The pictures that have been taken are the same scene repeated over and over, and seeing them over the past few days has become numbing. But in every picture a family's history, home, finances and memories have been all taken away.

Thankfully, my family lives in the southern corner of Alabama so my parents and the majority of my family were safe from the storms, my brother Chris and I bunkered down underground at the nearby high school and my other brother got stuck working triage at the hospital. However, thousands of other people were not so lucky. Although I have been extremely blessed during this whole ordeal to not have a single friend or family member hurt, no structural damage and being one of the few people in Birmingham that didn't even lose power, it is still hard to understand how something like this could happen.

 It's hard to grasp how so many people lost everything they own in a matter of seconds. It's difficult to think about never seeing a family member or friend ever again. Knowing someone you love is now gone forever or worse, could possibly still be missing. Realizing that the tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, was headed to Homewood, where I was, but then headed to downtown Birmingham where my friends and school were, missed us all completely and destroyed several towns within 5 minutes away is mind-boggling. It was hard a few years ago to watch a school packed with students and teachers, less than 30 minutes from my house get completely destroyed, but my school was unharmed, I was with my family in our home untouched. It's hard to understand why God lets certain events happen. I'm not questioning God or blaming him. But sometimes it's hard to see the whole picture of his plan when we are only given bite sized pictures of homes destroyed, wood and installation covering roads and buildings people were in demolished to a pile of bricks.

That was what I was thinking until I saw the video below and began reading in my Bible to find comfort. I turned to the middle of my Bible and began reading out of Psalm 39:

⁴ “Show me, LORD, my life’s end

   and the number of my days;

   let me know how fleeting my life is.

⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

   the span of my years is as nothing before you.

Everyone is but a breath,

   even those who seem secure.

 ⁶ “Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom;

   in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth

   without knowing whose it will finally be.

 ⁷ “But now, Lord, what do I look for?

   My hope is in you.

That was all I needed. Although it is hard to watch continuing coverage of lives and homes destroyed, we have to hope in God. For those who no longer have anything, hope and faith in God is something no storm or person or any type of destruction can take away.

So as the communities surrounding Birmingham and the rest of the state mourn and recover to eventually rebuild, pray. Pray for what you can donate, whether it is water, food, clothes or time. Pray for healing, pray that the victims can find a way to cope with their unexpected losses, and over all pray that God will be glorified, even in the biggest disaster. Pray that people will be wrapped in love and hope and will learn to live their lives not for possessions or material items, but for God. Just as the storm took away, God will provide.