4th-grade Me

Fourth Grade Alicia makes me laugh.

I think as a result of too much Mighty Ducks and always having a weird combination of colors, I came to the conclusion in my little journal that I was going to go to Boston College (I thought red and gold were sophisticated college colors, and then I ended up at ASU ) and end up dating, then marrying a Christian hockey player named Elliot.

I really don't know why I thought this so fervently, or why such odd details, but I do know that God works all things together for my good.

I'm at a point where I am tired of change, and at the same time am looking forward to change enthusiastically. This struck me a few weeks ago talking with a friend who was saying as he was off to start a new adventure, one of our mutual friends almost seemed jealous he couldn't go start something too. This next year looking ahead is both exciting and terrifying to me. I am so ready to have a place where I can host dinners and have friends sit on the couch to watch TV or play wii and talk about real life issues without wondering who is next through the front door. But at the same time, for the first time since Kindergarten, I am the one staying in the same place and one of my best friends is moving on.

I wasn't expecting God to use Long Beach as a time to reconnect solely with Him and in some ways withhold community in my life. I wasn't expecting to feel so built up and torn apart all at the same time. I wasn't expecting Him to ask me to stay on staff and my friend to not.

But I see so much good in all these things, and while I begin to store my winter clothes knowing I'm moving in 2 months, all these thoughts of change flood my mind.

I'm wondering what God will do in this next season, what He is teaching me now that I still may not be aware of. What good He will bring to my family and friends in this next time too, and what challenges we all get to rise to.

Breathing...