Maybe this is just how I know I'm alive

Even though we don’t always realize it, lots of things change in our lives from year to year. Sometimes the change is minimal and sometimes it’s very significant. For me, 2010 signifies a year of significant change. Lots of times at the end of a year, people tend to look back and see how much their lives have changed. Sometimes they can’t detect much of a change and other times it’s clearly obvious how much things have changed.

So today I am looking back to last year. Exactly a year ago yesterday (June 19), I headed on a plane with 19 other people to Costa Rica. Things were insane just on our journey down there, including a missing passport in one of the busiest airports (Atlanta) and 17 people under the age of 21 trying to find a Costa Rican that they’ve never met in an airport so crowded it looked like they were expecting the President. But we got though that. Two days later, everyone on the team was reunited and we were able to focus on the reason we were in Costa Rica. The 11 days I spent in Costa Rica changed my life. I served others in ways I hadn’t served before and got close to the other members of the team. We met a wonderful family, the Cordero’s, who have been like second parents to me. My time in Costa Rica forever changed my life, and to quote a song, I’ll never be the same.

A few weeks after we got back we reported to church the adventures of our trip. It was awesome to hear other members share what they got out of our trip and it was so neat to see all the people who had been praying for us while we were serving God down in the Rica. J

A few weeks after that, something unimaginable happened. One of our Costa Rica teammates, and a close friend of many, was killed in an accident. It shook our church family, especially the youth, but I think it rocked our Costa Rica group the most. We came back from our trip closer than family. And when one of our members was taken from us, it cut deep. It was hard to go on after that because it was obviously a huge change.

A few weeks after our world had been severely shaken, I moved away to college. Talk about another big change. I was so blessed that I was at a Christian school. I met a lot of wonderful people and made friends who I know God placed in my life for a great reason. There were also a few big events that happened while I was away at school, and added to the stress of being away from my close friends in a great time of grief, it was just too much. I decided to come home after one semester of college and that was probably one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. But I got through that.

Coming home from college was a big change itself. After spending roughly 13 years in school, taking six months off of school was a huge change. School was the only thing I had known in my life and not participating felt a little weird. And then there was a repeat event: choosing another college. Whoever said that the second time is easier than the first has obviously never transferred from one college to another. It was somewhat of a stressful situation but I got through it. I went to orientation at my new school this past weekend and even though I had been through college orientation before, it was a change because it was a completely different school. But I got through that and I am now eagerly waiting for move-in day.

That is a lot of change for one year. And don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad change. I graduated from high school last year, and that was one of the happiest moments of my life. My experience in Costa Rica was another great moment of my life. Through the thick and thin, the difficult and the effortless, there was one thing that stayed constant the whole year. That was Jesus. I know I just quoted this verse, but it has a special place in my heart. Hebrews 13:8 says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That is one of the truest statements I have ever heard.