So anyway, there have been a lot of changes in so little time. For one, I had to say goodbye to my family, which for some reason, was even more sad/depressing than normal (normal as in when they send me off to college). I think it's because this is my first summer outside of New England, and I won't get to see them until November. No July 4th with my dad (July 4th is his birthday), no July 15th with Tak (that's his birthday), and no August 22nd with my mom (that's her birthday). No more random dinners to Chinatown, or spontaneous trips to Spofford to check up on Tak. Just me, myself, and I in the state of Tennessee... 932 miles away :(
Another major change: I am currently living and working with people that I have known for less than 72 hours. And so far, everyone is great! I was blessed to have two really cool roommates (and a great apartment...) and I loved that the majority of the interns (9 out of 13) are girls who are all really smart and friendly.
Today, I also found out that I am working in the hotline department at Alcoa! (No, I will not be answering phone calls all day). Basically, I get to help/watch the giant slabs of aluminum get rolled into thin 1/4 of an inch sheets. Because of this, I got some PPE (personal protection equipment) which included some safety glasses, ear plugs, an obnoxiously yellow hard hat, and steel toe boots. (And I thought the mechanical engineering shop at Purdue was intense....)
So basically, God has been teaching me a lot, and a lot of that I haven't actually processed through yet. The biggest thing that kept on popping up was pray-- don't worry, which was just what I needed. I was so nervous about meeting/living with people I didn't know, saying goodbye to my family, working in a huge plant with huge machines, driving around Knoxville, etc. But I was just reminded over and over again-- Blair, if you're worrying, that means you're not praying. Which, was a hard lesson to learn. I don't pray as much as I should. And even as a I pray when I'm nervous, it's like a frantic, jumbled up prayer, which I know that God can still understand/hear, but even as I'm praying, I'm still worrying a lot. But slowly and surely, God's showing me that He is faithful, and He always keeps His promises and does what's best for me, even when I frantically pray to Him.
I can't say with 100% certainty that I am excited for what God has in store for me this summer... because to be honest, if there's one thing I learned about the summer, it's that it's not always easy. I know this won't be an easy summer, and I won't pray for one. I just hope and pray that God will change me this summer and mold me into someone who loves Him more than anything and anyone. And, I am praying the same for everyone else, be it a Scandinavian mission trip, camp, Boston internship, research, etc.
God is good, guys! Don't forget that in the chaos of your summer :)
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.Psalm 90:14 ESV
