stud break

When I was first attending WKU in the fall of 2004 (sheesh... 6.5 years ago...) I made friends with these wonderful girls named Crystal and Sarah. Crystal is a Jewish girl from Scottsville, KY... Sarah is a Catholic girl from Washington, PA (or wahpah as I called it). We were enjoying our first week on campus at a thing called Master Plan, which is for transfers and freshmen only.  They get to move onto campus a week before anyone else and they teach you things like what building is what so you don't look ridiculous trying to find your classes, they show you where the bathrooms are, they teach you how to make nice with you're crazy room mate and they were also responsible for making us learn the WKU fight song. (Which was one of the many ways I impressed Chad when we were first dating.) 

It was a Thursday night and we had made some friends with some boys (EEK!) and we had all met up to go over our schedules to plot our routes to class when Crystal got the giggles and kept saying "stud break".  Long story short she was misreading a sign that clearly said study break with times listed. She thought the boys we had made friends with were gay and had set up a time to meet to scope out guys... This became our inside joke and even though the three of us literally live on opposite ends of the United States (Sarah- small town , AL & Crystal- Chicago, IL & me- right where I've been for the past 10.5 years of my life) we still share this inside joke.

I guess I got to thinking that because I was on here reading people's updates and realized it has been forever since I last posted.( I thought I posted in January... but apparently I just made that up.) So this is my stud break.  I am hoping to catch my husband on Skype (or get a phone call) and I am avoiding my studies.  But I miss those girls. I miss always having someone to call and go get ice-cream with.  I miss laughing at Crystal as we exposed her to everyday things like bowling and kids cereal (that was a mistake... she clearly had not been exposed to that much sugar at one time in her life... funny to watch, but I felt bad).

And I loved hearing Sarah's story of this childhood completely different than mine.  It's funny, because when you compare the 3 of our lives I would be ranked right in the middle of us 3 each time.  Crystal was obviously very sheltered, was an extreme type A and was a dancer.  Sarah was raised much more liberally, could never find anything and only danced when she was in private or later on when she was intoxicated. LOL  They were my first friends that I made that didn't have to be my friends.  Friends because we picked each other out from the group of 30 other girls on our floor and made it work.

When I started this post, as most of them, I had no intention of making it an Ode to Friends... but that must be what's on my heart tonight. I still have 2 close girl friends.  But they are older.  I am the baby of the group. We each came from very different backgrounds. But I love Jana and Vanessa.  I would not trade them for anything.  When the 3 of us are in public, they are the loud ones and I seem quiet.  (There's a first!) But when we're at someone's home, in the car, or it's just the 3 of us they know I will chime in.  These women have supported me through Chad's deployment and Sharon being in Haiti in only the ways sisters can.  I thank the Father every day for having blessed me with these 2 women who aren't perfect and don't pretend to be.  They haven't judged me for any of the things I have had the courage to be transparent with them about.  This alone means more to me than they will ever know.  They have supported me through times when I truly had no idea which way was up. They held my hands and pulled me back up for air.  Sure, we have had our spats, but we always work them out. 

I guess this is on my mind because they are each going through a hard time.  My heart breaks for them.  And this bothers me.  Because the things that are breaking their hearts is not something that can be fixed. I am thankful for a God that is my friend.  I am also thankful for a God that I don't have to say words to for Him to know what I am coming to Him with.  How blessed we are that he knows what each tear means and listens. 

But the hardest thing I have learned since Chad & Sharon left is to pray the words "Thy will be done." and mean it... if you don't think that's hard... try it.  To truly humble yourself and say that you want His will... even though it is more than likely not yours... to happen. 

I struggle with this because I am a control freak.  LOL  Which is why so much of what's going on in my life bothers me, I think. Because I know it's out of my control to be able to fix. But... more on that later...

My husband is calling. :)