As graduation was approaching, I had a lot of people remind
me of how much I didn’t want to go to college. They were asking me if I was
happy that I ultimately decided to come to Wheaton. Four years ago around this
time I was in Ensenada, Mexico finishing up a Discipleship Training School with
YWAM, telling my parents I did not ever want to go to school again. They
weren’t big fans of that and in the end I realized that I needed to respect
them and trust in their wisdom. So I bitterly left Mexico and went to Wheaton
College. But oh how the feelings have changed!
Freshman year was rough, but
looking back I wouldn’t even give up that year. I met some of my best friends
during that time. I met the incredible women that I would continue to live with
and be blessed by over the next several years. That summer I got to take
classes at one of my favorite places in the world- Honey Rock Camp- and meet another wonderful best friend. Sophomore year friendships grew deeper and more real and I began
to be a little bit more invested in my Wheaton experience. One or two new best
friends entered the scene and I was again blessed by the incredible friendships
in my life. That summer I had the opportunity to lead Passage, a program for
incoming freshmen, at Honey Rock, where I met eight more amazing young women.
What a blessing these ladies have been in my life since then. That was the
turning point when my Wheaton experience began to become one of my favorite
times of my life. Junior year I began to take more Christian Education and
Ministry classes and for the first time in my life I began to love school! And
as soon as I was incredibly happy and content at Wheaton, I knew that I
could leave because I knew I’d be back. So with that, I spent an incredibly
challenging and growing semester with YWAM again. I returned and that summer I
led Passage again, and this time I was not only blessed with 9 wonderful
freshmen, but with a co-leader who has become yet another best friend and huge
blessing in my life. Senior year was a phenomenal time of diving even deeper
into friendships and discovering more and more and how wonderful my friends
are, and, as it comes to a close, I am having an incredibly hard time saying
good-bye. But my mama, who knows me so very well, blessed me in a massive way
with her graduation gift. She asked many of my closest friends and some family
members to write me letters for graduation. (For those of you who were not
given this opportunity, don’t feel left out! ;) My address this summer is 215 W.
Jefferson Wheaton, IL 60187 and letters are my favorite things in the world.)
These letters have been helping me move forward. First, they have been helpful
reflections on relationships and events in my past, but they have also been
filled with words from very wise people encouraging me about my future. I hope
that you can be blessed by this excerpt from one of these letters written by a
very dear and wise friend: “I also hope that as He makes you aware of all that
He has already done in and through you, your expectancy for what is yet to come
will increase. Greater things have yet to come, greater things have still to be
done here. I sense that there are greater things ahead…. And as our love for
Him increases and our understanding of Him deepens, each new season has a
sweetness to it. Just as nothing will be able to compare with your season at
Wheaton, I believe nothing will be able to compare to the seasons that await
you because they each have a different purpose and beauty about them.” We all go through a variety of seasons in our lives and each has its own purpose and beauty. How awesome is that?!
So, to all of you who have been asking- Yes! I am so
incredibly happy that I decided to come to Wheaton. I am beyond grateful for
each friendship that I have had the blessing of being part of and for the ones
that will continue for the rest of my life. I will forever cherish so many happy memories from my time at Wheaton. Mama and Daddy, you were right and
I was wrong. Wheaton was one of the biggest blessings of my life and I am so
grateful for your wise counsel and guidance in my life. I’m so sad that it is now
a part of my past, but I am excited to see what the future holds. So after spending
time looking back and knowing a little bit better what to hold onto and bring with me, I look ahead
and step onto the next part of my path. Thank you all for journeying with me
and loving me along the way. What incredible friends and family I have!
But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My
future is in your hands.” – Psalm 31:14-15
