Returning Reflections

It has been three months, but I'm back. It's a strange feeling, really. I'd like to think that I've changed; that the lessons I learned this summer have actually made me a different person. But I know how easily I am swayed by the winds of America and materialism and selfishness. It would seem, though, that if such lessons really do slip through my fingers and my old habits and mindsets creek back up over my heart, then perhaps I never really was changed.

God worked on me a lot this summer, and I am very glad He did. With as many bad thing that happened this summer, one very undeniable point is that it put me in the exact place, situation, and attitude for God to really grab a hold of me. Some of what I learned is simply too much to write about, and the rest is simply too painful.

But now that I'm back, I embark upon the academic year that will be, by far, the most challenging one of my life. Not because of class work, but because of everything else. But if anything could have prepared me for the heartache that lies ahead by pouring a concrete foundation in my love relationship with God, it was this summer.

He is going to teach me a lot this year; I can see it coming already. I just want to stay in a place where I can listen to Him. I am changed, and I like being different. I just hope its not too hard to convince everyone else of that, and to keep those American winds at bay.