august - december 2023: what God is teaching me

hey friends! I hope you are all doing amazing! I decided to combine august-december into one post because I am going back during christmas break to write these blog posts and I think it is just easier to do it this way. plus my mind is more fresh on things as a whole, of what God has taught me my fall semester at college! sooo let's get into it! :)))))

first i want to start off saying, this semester and time of my life has not been easy. a constant theme that i've been learning of the Lord's character during these past few months is..... God's faithfulness!!

this past august, I started school at wallace state community college and I am pursuing a degree in OB/GYN sonography (ultrasound). i am so happy to be doing ultrasound. i love helping others and getting to see the sweet babies (MIRACLES)!! there is so much joy in getting to show momma's their babies, sometimes for the FIRST time!! through much prayer, i believe this is where the Lord has placed me in this season of my life (in this career, at wscc, with my church group, etc.) and He continues to remind me of that !! the most exciting part about being in ultrasound to me, is the great opportunity it is to love on others and point them to Jesus in some of their most life-changing moments everrrr!!!

to share a little more on this career and seeing God's faithfulness....I want to tell you a STORYYYYY.... so i planned on doing dental hygiene since my junior year of high school. i did all of the prerequisties for it and had a plan to go to wallace to cheer there on a full-ride scholarship... well let me just share that that^^ did not happen that way. in high school, i prayed that God would guide me in what to do, what career, what school, etc, just like many others my age do when making these important decisions. in times like these where everything seems to fall apart, i am reminded of verses like, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord established their steps" -proverbs 16:9

the fall of my freshman year at school, my parents leased an apartment in august for me and my roomie, Alyssa!! shoutout Alyssa :)) so we came here in August and moved in on a tuesday. on thursday shortly after cheer practice, I was told that we have practice during the early afternoon when school begins (school started the following Monday). well, that was a problem because I had lecture one of the days during the week that overlapped practice time. I tried to see if there was extra time I could come in to tumble or anything, because I obviously was not willing to miss my class. but there was no choice or changing it. sadly, i was faced with a decision (completely out of my control). Forced to pick between my cheer scholarship and opportunity to continue doing what I loved in college, or my competitive program which i had worked hard to get into. i cried and cried.

why was this happening? what was the reason for me to get all the way here, after all the practices, through the entire tryout process, the apartment lease date, and after being accepted into the ultrasound program... only to be told 3 days before I began class, that I could not do both. it was a complete shock, but I was now being forced to make a decision that would affect my future and one that would affect the thing I loved to do and gave me free tuition for my career. it did not make any sense. But after many tears and phone calls, and doing what I felt was all I could do to make it work, the circumstance were not changing. so I made the obvious decision to continue in my career in ultrasound. I had no idea, but that day was the last day i would ever cheer. as sad and hard as it was, God gave me peace about what had happened. it was obvious that He had opened and closed doors, and it was not my job to try to pry it back open. since then, HE has revealed to me the ways of his faithfulness in working that hardship out. our plans are not HIS plans.

I heard someone say something along the lines of this: "often times, our God is a hindsight God" -- isn't that so true? we can see God's reason for doing something, not in the moment, but usually after it happens. He will sometimes show us why He did certain things and why he DID NOT do certain things. will we know all of the answers? NO. but how many times has something occurred in your life that you did not want, but later you realized there was good in it and it ended up working out better than you could have ever planned. that's because our God is in every situation, orchestrating and guiding each step of His plan for our lives! how awesome and comforting is that. whatever you are facing today, know that your father's ways are HIGHER than your ways, and his THOUGHTS are higher than your thoughts.

8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55: 8-9 NIV

The Lord's peace has given me confidence that this was His plan. I have seen it in answered prayers of sweetest, godly friendships through the sonography program and at the apartment where I wouldn't have lived in if it weren't for cheer! and now, because of not having practices or games, i have plenty of time to spend studying (which is basically all the time HAHA no joke.) I also got to be involved in our college group on Wednesday nights! and was able to go to our girls group from these amazing 2 ladies from church, who host us on tuesday nights!! I realize that I might not get to be as involved in these things, if I was also committed to a team.

another thing God taught me throughout this first semester of college, is how much I need Him and how He is the one I can pray to and trust in. you don't even know how many times there were that I cried to GOD wondering if I could make it through this program or wondering if I was smart enough? many told me how fast-paced and rigorous this program was because it is so much information in a 1-year program, but I truly had no idea HAHA. my mentor told me before I began in august, that it would be one of the hardest things I ever did, but also one of the most rewarding! she is so right! God has shown me how good He is to help me accomplish my dream! When I am worried and pray about my anxieties, He helps me and I find peace in His Word. my grandpa prays this when he was in college, and I try to before all of my exams and tests: God, help me to have 100% remembrance of all that I have studied!! He truly does answer our prayers. when we put in the work and try our hardest, he is there to give us peace as we take even tests or exams!! I know you might laugh... she really gets this nervous over tests-- but yes, I do often. even to tears sometimes. but especially since this is the hardest schooling I have ever done, I have had to learn to lean on Him more than ever! the Lord is there for us to help us through what feels impossible on our own, but we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). he is not a genie that we pray to just when were about to do something or need a favor. but a GOD and a friend that tells us HIS WORD:

--come to him, all who are heavy burden, and I will give you rest

---- my yolk is easy and my burden is light.

--- in the multitude of our anxieties, His consolation brings us joy

---return to rest once more, oh my soul, for the lord has been good to you

---do not worry about anything, but with prayer and supplication, present your request to God

----when I am afraid, I will trust in you

---I will never leave you, nor forsake you

---do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed for I am your GOD. I will strengthen you, and help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Thank you Lord, for showing us how I can lean on you and remind ourselves of YOUR WORD!! truly, God had a better plan for me that I could not see back when everything felt like it was failing. when my plans began to fall through with cheer, God revealed that HE had something better. in hindsight, I see now that God could have used cheerleading to get me to look into going to wscc because I originally wanted to cheer there. since i had cheer as my goal, I prayed about what career to do. that led me eventually to sonography. now I am LOVING it and am so grateful to be doing it. even though cheer did not work out, what if it was GOD's plan all along for me to do ultrasound, but He used cheer to get me to wscc? who knows for certain the exact plans of GOD, but I am so amazed at the way He works. thank you Lord. your plan over mine every time, please!! thy will be done!! amen!!

now I am here at home for the holiday break celebrating christmas and spending time with my family/friends. I am excited to wrap up 2023 and the "what GOD is teaching me each month" series! I cannot wait to share more truth + encouragement on here in 2024 all for the LORDS glory!!

friends, our God is faithful and I hope this post has left you, nothing less than comforted in the TRUTH----- your father in heaven loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, seek His plan. He is a faithful God!! thank you lord for who you are!

have an amazing final few days of 2023!!!!!

I LOVE YOU --- + GOD LOVES YOU EVEN MORE !!!

if you have never given your life to JESUS and you want to know more about what that means please text me! it would be my JOY to tell you how you can be SAVED!!

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