Tuesday, September 14, 2010

she is back

 Rachel is back.




Her summer was so eventful that she took a break from blogging but now that her life has settled a bit she is back.
I met Rachel my freshman year of college. I still remember meeting her for the first time. She was sitting on her oversized futon in her dorm room telling a story. I am not even sure what she was talking about because I was so distracted by her hands that were moving as she told the story. Its the little moments like that day in her dorm room that formed our friendship.






And for the next four years we shared everything from dresses, swap costumes, st. tropez, jeans, a desks, and our senior year we got to share a room. Over the last four years we have stayed up way too late watching the devil and online shopping, we have planned many costumes, we have analyzed rush in entirely too much detail, we shared in each other's joy and loved each other when times were less than perfect, we have analyzed relationships and shared stories about her mom and my dad, and over the last four years  we have laughed, cried, loved, and grown together. And there are days that I still feel like we are on summer break and that soon we will be moving back in together






But that is not the case this year because sweet rach has a new room mate and there is no one I would rather hand her off to than him. They married at August 14th and the whole day was perfect. She is going to blog all the details so I do not want to take that from her but the whole day I felt like I was glowing. Rachel has had her wedding planned for a long time now and it was beautiful to watch her dreams unfold so perfectly that day. An hour before she walked down the aisle she was the calmest I had ever seen her. After all the planning it was hard to believe we would ever make it to the point but we did.   And the most beautiful thing about her wedding ceremony was that it was completely about the Lord. Even as she walked down the aisle in her gorgeous white dress Amazing Grace was playing and we were reminded just how good God is.




The thing I am most grateful for when it comes to my friendship with her is that Rachel has been blessed with the ability to see people and situations the way God does. And being around her for the last four years has allowed me to share in this. She keeps an eternal perspective when living her life. Rachel has seen things in me and in the rest of our friend group that I had never realized. She is able to pinpoint the qualities in people that often others don't take the time to notice


she is strong and sensitive at the same time
she is independent but is eager to welcome new people into her life
she loves others selflessly and
she has loved me perfectly
and she truly knows what it means to surrender completely to the grace we have been given








love and miss you


Until Then,


Amy

Thursday, September 2, 2010

coming back home


"Everybody has to leave
everybody has to 
leave their home and come back
 so they can
love it again for all new reasons”
 -Donald miller

It took me only two weeks away to realize all the reasons I love oxford and this weekend I get to go BACK!

Getty Images
The last two weeks in Denton,TX have been an experience unlike any other. There are 16 people in my graduate class. Their ages range from 22-46. Some have boyfriends, some have fiancees, some have spouses, and two have children of their own. Their hometowns range from Minnesota to Texas, from Massachusetts to Nebraska, and there are even two students from Australia. 
We have different backgrounds, beliefs, and even accents. 


But in a world far from the comforts of the grove, mornings at bottle tree, walks through campus, beauty call, the balcony of a bar on a thursday afternoon, the rib cage after a friday night baseball game, yogurt at chaney's, coffee at uptown, and an unlimited supply friends I am learning how to live outside of my bubble that so perfectly consisted of each of these things. These experiences have shaped me in such a way that makes me able to survive in a world without these comforts.

And I am learning how to love Denton. I am learning how to be on my own and in the last two weeks...
I have grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and prepared full meals for myself
 I have attended church completely alone and been okay with it
 I have attended classes as a graduate student and taken on way to many projects
I have rented nine red boxes and received five movies from netflixs
I have been given a job at clinic where I have the opportunity to love on children and build relationships with their parents

And one day I hope I love this place. I know it can never be Oxford but then again what place can be. 

So for the friends in Oxford I will be arriving early saturday morning and I can't wait to see your faces. For the friends other places this weekend know you will be missed and the grove will not be the same without you


until then, 
amy