Home is Where My Heart is

I have been home for a week and a half now, and I can honestly say there is no place I'd rather be. Yes, I love traveling. Yes, I love spending time with my siblings and friends at college. Yes, I loved my vacation, but by the end of my stay in Moscow, I was really ready to come home. I think being away for almost a month helped me recognize and appreciate what a treasure I have in my family. I am so blessed to have such wonderful, godly parents who have such a strong love for God and an amazing vision for their family.

I missed the routine and structure of daily life. I missed cooking with Momma, walking into the kitchen to give Mom and hug and talk to her anytime of day, starting the day off with family worship, and gathering around the table three times a day, with the people I love the most (minus my older siblings), to share delicious meals. I missed seeing my brothers, hearing their guyish conversations and funny comments. I missed seeing my church family each week, receiving hugs from the precious little girls, talking with the mom's and young ladies, and hearing our wonderful pastor preach from God's Word.

As I begin to wrap up school and look forward to my high school graduation in a couple weeks, I continue to receive the previously daunting question of what I will be doing after graduation. For several weeks I had no idea what I was going to do or where God was going to lead me. I talked and prayed about it a lot, trying to choose between going to college at New Saint Andrews, where my older siblings are, or to stay home. Both options presented several pros and cons and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to pick one. However, God's ways are not our ways, and in the course of a week, just before Christmas, God cleared up any doubt and showed me where He is directing my steps for this coming year. I am going to be staying home this next fall pursuing numerous things including music, literature, theology, finding ways to serve in my family, church, and community, and in general learning skills that will help prepare me to be a wife and mother someday. I couldn't be happier. Actually, I am nearly beside myself with joy and excitement about what all God has in store for me this next fall. I look forward to sharing the excitement of this journey with my readers and over time see the changes God brings about in my life.

~Striving for Christ,
Marissa