Because I Knew You I Have Been Changed For Good

My Trans Ed class
"I've heard it said / That people come into our lives / For a reason / Bringing something that we must learn.
And we are led to those / Who help us most to grow if we let them. / And we help them in return.

It well may be / That we will never meet again / In this lifetime.
So, let me say before we part / So much of me / Is made of what I learned from you.
You'll be with me / Like a handprint on my heart.
And now whatever way our stories end / I know you have rewritten mine / By being my friend.

Because I knew you / I know I have been changed / For good."  - For Good, Wicked the musical

My RA, mentor and friend
Graduation at Wheaton is this weekend and it is bittersweet. I have to say goodbye to one of my dearest friends at college and will miss her terribly. Yet I know that it is right. It is time for her to move on. This chapter of her life is ended and another one is unfolding. I have friends who are studying abroad next year who I may not see again because of graduation and my own plans to study abroad. I am done with sophomore year which means I am now half way through college??!! I am moving out of the freshman dorm that I have loved so dearly. I get to live in an apartment next year! Changes are pouring in, people are parting ways, nothing will ever be the same. So this song is for my dear RA, for my other senior friends and everyone who has influenced me in some way this past year. I have been changed for good by each of you in ways that you may not have realized. Thank you for that. Thank you for impacting me, for loving me, for laughing with me, for teaching me, for challenging me and most of all, for being my friend. This post is for you.
My Prez ball group
There are so many people who I have come to know and love over this past year. Old friendships that have been renewed and new friendships that have been built. They have all impacted me in some way or another. Which is why relationships is one of my priorities here at Wheaton. They are my foundation in my life, besides God, of course. I'm a good Wheaton student. ;) I am like a little church. Each relationship is a different brick or stone that has shaped me into who I am today. They have shifted me to have a corner here, a turn there, an extra window there or some color over here. My blueprints didn't have all those pieces originally but my friends came along and, sometimes gently and other times not so gently, changed things to make my church, my life, my heart, my mind, my soul, better than they were before. It hasn't always been a clean process, much has been broken and much has been made new. The jagged pieces of the stained glass are just as beautiful as the pure, unscarred altarpiece. But God is my architect and He has been keeping a careful eye on the building process. He hasn't let go of me and He knows exactly how He wants me to turn out in the end. I need not fear but trust wholeheartedly in Him.

My DSG leaders group
God has brought about some unexpected gifts this year, most of which have been through relationships. Like my Transformational Education class that brought students from various majors, backgrounds and groups on campus to create a community that truly felt like family. We all said that it was one of our favorite classes of the semester. I went to Prez Ball with a new friend who I didn't know at the beginning of the year but has turned into one of my closest guy friends at Wheaton. My roommate-to-be next year and I are nearly polar opposites but we have grown and strengthened our relationship to the point where we can live together! I wasn't sure about my DSG leaders group at the beginning but I have been immensely blessed by each of them throughout the year. The 6 of them have made me laugh so much with their snark and goofiness as well as supported me and listened to some of my most difficult struggles. I didn't know what to expect of the freshmen this year except that I would try to love them and make them feel at home as best as I could. They surprised me by ministering to me hugely throughout the year through loving me well and inviting me into their homes and lives. It was the little and big things like working on a raid for the brother floors, serving brunch to them at the end of the year, going to all school together, having random dance parties, or those late night hallway conversations. I am so thankful to have gotten to live with them the past year. So with that, farewell, sophomore year! Thanks to all of you who have been part of it and changed me for the better.

My beautiful, wonderful floor

Comments

  1. KathlinJune 6, 2016 at 7:38 PM

    Heard you're going to be at honey rock this summer--enjoy! Make sure to visit the observatory for a starlight if you get the chance to with your girls. Hopefully they're still teaching the Jewish constellations I learned and taught while out there my sophomore year. :) you may find that junior year forces you to be more intentional with your friendships. Living in an apartment is awesome, but it's also harder to feel a part of an instant community. No more yelling down the hall to see if someone wants to go get dinner, etc. but it's good prep for life after college, for intentionally being in community with others, and for setting some of the rhythms of being in fellowship with others that you would like to establish. Much love to you!

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