One of the things I have been thinking about is how I want to spend my time in Germany. I am excited to have a much more free and flexible schedule. For the last 6 years, while I have been completing my degree, I have been in school full time, worked part time and been heavily involved in my church. Those three things combined take up a LOT of time! Although I have loved college, I am excited to start a new journey, with life not feeling as crazy. As I have been thinking about the next year, about a week ago the thought "Germany: A year with the Lord" came to mind. Instantly I knew this would be my goal. To commune with the Lord often and intimately. I have been looking up devotional plans and came across one that I am really excited about! It requires a time commitment each day, and honestly I am nervous that I won't be as committed as I want to be, but I want to give it a shot! The plan is that you read 10 chapters from the Bible per day, from 10 different books. I am so excited for this because I will get to read through the whole bible, but not cover to cover. It will give me an opportunity to read old testament and new testament at the same time! Many of the books I will read more than once, which is also cool. I am also really hoping to spend a good amount of time in prayer each day! I am so excited to get to Germany for the fact that I am going to start these new habits!
Another significant part of the past month is goodbyes. I hate goodbyes. It is so hard to say goodbye to people and places that I love. I hope that most of them are see you laters, but honestly they could be goodbyes. Over the past two weeks, it has been ever present that I am saying goodbye. Often as I am driving I think, "This could be the last time I drive on this road for a year." Or when I meet up with friends, "This could be the last time we hangout here." Along with those thoughts come the goodbye to friends and family. I have already said my goodbyes to some friends and its been hard, and I imagine it is only going to get harder. Not only am I saying goodbye to them physically, but I am also saying goodbye to our current friendship. Things are going to be different once I leave, so it is also mourning the loss of the way it is now. I am also mourning the end of my college years. I am done, thank God, but it is still hard to say goodbye to the last 6 years of my life. Things will never be like they were for the last 6 years. I am graduated, and that means that things change. That is a hard pill to swallow. With all of that said, I believe that the Lord has brought an end to a beautiful time in my life, because something more beautiful is on the horizon. I can't wait to see what that is.