Forest Gump famously said that "Life is like a box of chocolates." Well, I'm not one to argue with Forest, but at the moment, I'd say life is like a cookie. You know what that moment's like? The one where you bite into the most perfectly gooey white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. It melts in your mouth and is perfectly sweet, but not too sweet. That's what the nuts are for. And to add that special crunch. You want to keep eating it because it's so good, but at the same time you want to eat it slow so that it lasts longer. You've got cookie dough flavors and chocolate flavors swirling in your mouth and they mix to make the most perfect blend. Mmmm. You savor the moment and at that very instant all is right with the world. It doesn't matter that you just ate broccoli ten minutes before, because right now you're savoring a cookie. Well, that's what I'm comparing life to right now. It might be a bad analogy, but as I was eating a wonderful white chocolate macadamia nut cookie about five minutes ago, something flashed in my head to compare it to life.
My life right now, it's a cookie. Sometimes it's gooey, sometimes it's crunchy, and sometimes there are sweet chocolate chips that are encountered but other times there's the bitter nuts. I walked out of the second biggest test of my life about an hour ago. Tests were never this intense until I encountered Hispanic Culture and Civilization. They are what every high school student is terrified of when the statement of college exams are mentioned, but never really encounter that freshman year. As I looked back over my test to make sure I had written everything I could remember about Carlos IV or Francisco de Goya or Los Características del Romanticismo, I actually smiled. I felt confident that I did my best on that test. It's a good feeling. That's the gooey-ness of my cookie. [How far can we carry this cheesy analogy??]
Let me back up a bit. Spring Break was amazing. The youth of Park Hill went on a retreat to Castle Bluff (camp grounds) and it was a wonderful time! I am so truly blessed to get to work with such wonderful kids and leaders. So many relationships were built and strengthened, many great laughs, a giant spontaneous dance party, and the Good Word was preached (Dr. Joey Dodson taught on Philippians; amazing!). Not a lot of sleep happened, but it was well worth it and I'd do it again soon in a heartbeat. [Let's call that the chocolate. The sweet moments that make life notable. Because, really, who remembers that cookies have flour or an egg? They remember that there was chocolate!]
I left from there and went home. Followed by much sleep and relaxation! I attempted to do some homework and was decently successful.
I returned to school and was hit by a few massive exams and right as I was studying for the above mentioned exam, I was hit with the truth that I had a week to find a new roommate. The situation of roommates, which I had been assured was remaining the same, was not. Insert crunch here. Not only was I shocked that our plans would change at such a last minute time, I was almost peeved that I was notified at a pivotal studying moment. It's amazing how God works things out for His good. What I saw as such a hard moment, and the moments following looking for a roommate (OBU has these things called "roommate mixers" and they're the most awkward situations ever! I left in tears), God taught me a lot about trust and peace. He showed me that He had a plan for a new roommate and new living situation. [[It turns out that Danielle, my current roommate, was in the same situation. We didn't know each other hardly, but we found that the other needed a roommate the day before sign-ups were due. There was a new transfer student that needed a home, and another girl who was going to study abroad, but decided not to. God placed us at just the right time to be together, and it has been the biggest blessing. We have so many laughs together and it is so wonderful to be surrounded by Godly women.
[[I found this little post in the archives, but it hadn't been finished. So I decided to finish it, almost a year later. The parts put in double brackets were new the new things.]]
