season by season

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me 

Morning by morning I wake up to find 

The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine 

Season by season I watch Him, amazed 

In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways 

All I have need of, His hand will provide 

He’s always been faithful to me. 

Sara Groves

More likely than not, if you talked to me for more than a few minutes at any point between May and August, I probably mentioned (or at least alluded to) my utter dread and anxiety about the upcoming Super Scary and All Too Imminent Fourth Semester {of nursing school} that I was about to begin. From day one of the nursing program (literally, since we walked into orientation), my classmates and I have heard nothing but anxiety-producing things about how hard/awful/stressful/drown-in-a-puddle-of-tears 4th semester is. Needless to say, it was not exactly something I was overly looking forward to. 2nd semester was stressful enough, and I couldn't even comprehend how it possibly (but supposedly) could get worse. Add to that leaving my Haiti home and all of the people I love there and returning to my Texas home just in time to start back to my work and school whirlwind... There were definitely a few days where I merely existed in a daze of Haiti-withdrawal/school dread/emotional meh (ßtechnical term).

Thankfully (oh so thankfully), God has once again been so faithful to move me from that place of being overwhelmed by nearly every little thing  into a place where I am frequently reminded of how very much He has blessed me--in so many ways, but especially with the people He's placed in my life. I am surrounded by so many wonderful and supportive and encouraging people, both near and far, and that truly makes all the difference in the world between drowning in that puddle of tears and being able to "chin up" and keep going on the not so great days. And you know what? The "not so great days" have been much fewer and farther between than I'd feared. That's often true, I guess, that anticipation is worse than reality.

Anyway, all of this to say, I am grateful. Grateful to God for His faithfulness in providing exactly what (and who!) I need in the moment I need it, and grateful to all of you wonderful people -- family, friends, coworkers, customers, fellow church members, classmates, Haiti friends -- who add such joy to my life. So thankful.

In other happy news...

My first niece or nephew will be arriving in Spring 2014 :) Congratulations, Kevin & Danielle!

Paul made the brilliant decision in August to date this amazing girl, and I'm thoroughly enjoying watching their relationship grow. I also got a trip to Nashville and an introduction to Beaver Nuggets out of this deal ;)

Last but certainly not least, this little one turned six in September!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!