Change is gonna come

And frankly, it's already here. I graduated from the University of Texas this past weekend. I'm almost a real nurse. I am going to have a serious change of address. (two new zip codes in the next few months, and one of them has it's own country code). Austin has already changed. Many of the people I have shared the last four years with aren't here anymore. It's good...really good, but weird. I love this part in Patty Griffin's When it Don't Come Easy and it's how I have felt a lot lately...

I don't nothin but change will come,
Year after year what we do is undone.
Time gets movin' from a crawl to a run.
I wonder if we are gonna ever get home.

You are out there walkin' on a highway
and all of the signs got blown away
Sometimes you wonder
If you are walkin in the wrong direction.

This weekend was so much fun. Tons of my family came in town and after the formal graduation festivities, we celebrated with a weekend at the lake. My peeling shoulders are proof of how much time was spent soaking up the sun :)

Here I am with my parents after the School of Nursing Graduation



We went to a really nice lunch at the Shoreline Grill, but this is for some reason the only picture taken...very typical me and my cousins laughing hysterically while Brad is at the end of the table texting.



My cousin Dede (Lindsay) and I after lunch. If we didn't have sunglasses on you would see why most people think we are sisters. Oh wait, our mom's are identical twins so we are sisters.



On Saturday night we had the big UT commencement ceremony and it was a blast! The rain stopped just in time so we were able to see the fireworks and the tower all lit up.



More pictures to come later. I am working on an epic post to chronicle the last 4 years in pictures so get excited about that...

So are you ready for me to tell you what I am doing with my life??? Well you will have to wait a few more paragraphs...

The night before my graduation I read this short passage in 1 Timothy. Paul is talking about where people find true contentment. He talks about those who desire to be fulfilled with things of this world, such as money, they plunge into ruin and destruction. But on the contrary there are a people who find true contentment in simply having food and shelter....but how is that possible? Then Paul gives Timothy this charge...

"But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.

He goes on to tell Timothy to take hold of the eternal life to which he was called and "set his hopes on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy". Our call is "to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of what is truly life."

So that's it, that's what I am doing with my life. In the worst job market in my lifetime, I am pursuing righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. I know it's not going to be that easy, and I'll probably screw it up a lot (that's why Paul called it a fight). But as change is coming and I am unsure of the direction I am going, I am sure that this is what God has called me to. And I want to experience what is truly life, don't you?

What does that look like? Well in my opinion it looks like the most exciting adventure and the LAST thing I thought I would be doing when I finished college. I am going back to Haiti to serve at the clinic and rescue center I visited on Spring Break through the end of August and then moving to Nashville, Tennessee. (Did I really just type that???) Yes, I am intentionally going to a foreign country where I don't speak the language to serve along side some really amazing people and take care of the poor and the sick. Only to return to the States and move to a new city without a job. Crazy, right? I cannot contain the excitement because the ONLY reason that God would have picked this for me is because it is better than what I planned for myself.

Amongst the excitement, there is fear and sadness. My Dad warned me this weekend about post-partum depression. I don't have an RN license yet, but I know that is not what he meant. I am doing really well right now, however I am not sure that it has really hit me yet. So in advance, I apologize if you are in my presence when out of nowhere I completely lose it and don't stop crying for 3 days.

This post is already long, and I have so much more to say. Good thing I will need to take lots of "breaks" from studying over the next week. Did I tell you that I am taking the NCLEX (Nursing Boards) on June 9th? That's what I am studying for. And I want to tell you about my future roommates and how seriously excited I am to discover a new city. And I haven't broken the news to Austin that I am leaving so I am working on my "it's not you, it's me" break-up letter. Don't worry, you'll get to read it.

Love you all and if you are in Austin, I want to see you soon!!!!!