Jesus, Growing Up, Final Exams and SWAMP FEVER!!!

"The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

 For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.

 And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

 Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.” 
 Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.

 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.

 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!"

                                             -Psalm 27

I've been reading this passage a lot over the last few days. I feel like it was my theme this semester, especially the last 2 verses. I remember my daddy telling me that this year was going to be my year of break through and that many things in my life were going to take off. When I first started thinking about writing this post and what my "break through" year consisted of, I got discouraged. I couldn't think of anything. Then God said, "Why are you thinking so superficially? Have you not seen what I've done for you this year?" It's true. Now that I think about it, I have grown up so much this past year. I am handling things while keeping my cool, instead of getting overly emotional. Do I still make decisions off a pure emotion? Absolutely. I'm a girl. I shouldn't, but sometimes I do. There have been times where I've been stuck, had no earthly idea what to do, but God has continually come through for me. He has shown me everyday that He is in heavy pursuit of my heart. I've finally given it to Him, not just the parts I've wanted Him to have.... but my whole heart. He's wanted it for a long time. I've been so distracted over the last 2 years. This has been the year of heavy pursuit and growing up. Jesus has been so good to me.

So now I'm sitting here, starting my last week of college as a junior. Next Thursday morning I will officially be a senior in college. That is one of the most exciting yet scariest things I have ever said. Only a year left of doing what I've always done. Change is coming, thankfully God is teaching me about adjusting to change. I'm quite a hard headed (no, not hard headed, my mommy doesn't like that term), how about determined? Yeah, I'm a determined individual. Even with that, God is taking me by the hand, patiently, showing me that it's okay. He's got my back, my front, sides... okay, He's got everything. 

I'm not longer worried. I don't want to be in control.

"Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring."- Proverbs 27:1

I've always told people things that I have planned for the future. Not anymore. I'm not guaranteed tomorrow, so I'm going to take little by little what God has for me each day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was able to go home for almost a week to hang out with my family before final exams began. There is no place I'd rather be than my hometown. I don't have to do anything special at home to have fun, just being with my family is all that matters.

I was able to see my brother run track for the first time, and it was so much fun. My brother is a talented guy. If you don't know him, you should wish you do.

On a fitness note: Swamp Fever 5K is in a little over 2 weeks. That's right, I'm running my first 5K!! It's exciting! I've only run 2 miles straight so far, so I've got to practice running that extra 1.1 miles this week. I'm going to try to comfortably run 4 miles before the big race. I always said that I was never a runner and that I would never be able to run a race... well watch out people! Sarah Melton is running Swamp Fever! I've got my glitter shoes, spandex (yes, this lady is running in spandex) and pink shirt ready. It's gonna be good!