The Beginning Of The End...Kind Of

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the end...kind of.  I start my senior year of college and I figured it would be a good time to write before I head off to sleep and awake for my 8:30 class.  This only kind of marks the end of college for me because I plan on attending graduate school and earning my Master's Degree in Computer Engineering which just so happens to be my undergraduate degree as well!

I lasted throughout the summer that included an internship which I am extremely lucky to have had.  I learned a lot about programming and the business world.  I also learned how annoying construction can be and that commuting to work for an hourish kinda sucks haha.  I was talking to a friend recently about how I feel like I've aged a couple years over this past summer.  You know how you have those times in your life where you think you have everything figured out, but then God says "No, no, no.  Not today!"?  Well He didn't exactly say that to me but you get the picture.

Thrive is about to go through some growing experiences with Captain Jack Cross at the helm and I couldn't be more excited.  I'm excited to see a bit of growth number-wise, but more importantly I'm ready to see this campus that I love be changed for eternity.  Over the past 3 years I've come to love the University of Arkansas.  I love calling the Hogs.  I love the burn I get in my legs from walking up these giant hills.  I love going to school at a place with so many opportunities open to me.  Most importantly I love the students on this campus.  It took me awhile to figure out why I didn't get into Vanderbilt when I was younger.  I asked God to make it blatantly clear where He wanted me to go to school and He definitely made that clear.  I am glad to call this place my home and future alma mater.

Some things have been on my heart that I just need to share though.  Recently, God has been making clear to me that I need to live every moment from the time I wake up to the time I fall asleep about eternity.  This means serving where needed and having lots of awkward conversations with strangers (sorry if you've had to endure one of those with me).  I've seen God move in some awesome ways and it all starts with obedience.  I will constantly come up short but the one thing I can always strive for is obedience.  I don't know what that may look like in your life because at times I barely know what it looks like in mine.  It's that constant searching and seeking God's heart that will lead you to God's will though.  How can we receive something we haven't been asking about or looking for?

Another thing has been made abundantly clear to me and it's that I don't have to understand everything that happens in my life and that's OK.  If you know me well, you know I like to plan everything in advance and stick pretty closely to that plan.  Life doesn't line up for you nicely at times though and it can be quite confusing.  What's important though is that we have to trust God in whatever the situation may be.  It may not make sense to you.  You may not like it.  At the end of the day though, God is still God and He is Sovereign.  His ways are infinitely higher than ours.  Caleb and Joshua from the Old Testament made it up in their minds that they were going to trust God when it didn't make sense to them.  When they saw everything that was in the way of the Israelites entering the promised land, their response was to go and claim it because God had promised it.

That's what God is offering us, the promised land.  We could be like the Israelites and wonder the wilderness for 40 years or we can go and claim what God has already promised us.  His promises have a tendency to work out too in case you've forgotten.  I don't know if that hits home or not, but it's been on my heart recently.  Obey and trust when it doesn't make sense.  If you could be praying for me as I get back into the swing of things I would appreciate it.  Worship, Bible Study, and discipleship will hopefully begin to consume my time along with school and cheering on the Hogs of course!  Please let me know if I can be praying for you for something.  Thanks for taking the time to read also.  My friends are the best!

In Love,

Bill