here i sit at my desk.  the last time i will have a real dorm-y desk.
the room is piled with clothes, toiletries, and shoes that i have to somehow fit into a suitcase for the week.  i'm going to mexico tomorrow morning :)

when big life transitions happen, there usually is not time to process what's happening.  i hope to take time this week to reflect on my time here at moody and how i've changed through it and in spite of it.  i know that when i roll my suitcase out the door in a half an hour, it will be the last time i leave here expecting to return, even for only a day or two.

i'm getting emotional for the first time about this transition, and i think i'm just coming to realize how different my life will be when i return from mexico.  no more living in a condensed Christian community.  no more two-minutes walks to the commons where i inevitably find a friend or acquaintance to catch up with.  things will just be... different.

on a lighter note, i need to finish shoving it all in the suitcase (that actually isn't very full, so shove is probably an exaggeration.), call flashcab, and head on up to the creswells for the night awaiting our departure the next morning :)

hasta luego.
-e

footprints.

in church this morning, pastor peter talked about this "footprints in the sand" poem in a new way.  i always thought it was a pretty clever illustration and mildly comforting (i'm always skeptical of cheesy cliche christian things).

this morning, though, peter pointed out that there is never ever a time when we are walking side by side with Christ, two sets of footprints.  he is ALWAYS carrying us.  we are not capable of walking this life on our own, because each and every step requires a measure of grace.  we have never ever been able to take a step on our own.  and this is the heart of the gospel... that we don't have to!  we don't ever even have to try to crawl, because Jesus carries us every single step of the way.

how often do i fight him?  me, flopped over his shoulder, fighting to get down, yet he never lets me go, because if i were to fall, i would never be able to get up again until he picks me up.

so often i look at my own strengths, my own actions and accomplishments and think of it as "Jesus, thank you for walking beside me in this" - when really i should be saying "Jesus, there is no way i could have done any of this, or even gotten this far, without you carrying me.  thank you."

let Jesus carry you, because you can't do anything on your own.

one set of footprints in the sand.

saved by grace.  living by grace.

-e