Vine and Branches

So the past week has been pretty crazy. Holly's great-grandma had surgery in Fort Pierce (a couple hours from Orlando) last week. It was supposed to be a fairly simple surgery, but somehow she started bleeding on the inside somewhere and the doctors couldn't wake her up after the surgery. Holly and her family are very close to her, so they all flew down to see her and to be with their relatives through all of this. Naturally, Holly was pretty upset about it and it broke my heart to see her going through all of this, especially with other stuff that's going on in her life right now.

But then a cool verse came to my mind:

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

--James 1:2

I texted that verse to Holly, and everything just clicked together. Holly told me that she had been praying for patience recently, and she finally realized that all of this was happening to increase her patience. So it was awesome to see God answering prayer in the midst of dark times. The shadow proves the sunshine...

I did get to spend some time with Holly while she was down here. So it was great to be able to encourage her and be there for her. She is such a joy to be around, and she's such a blessing to me. I'm really excited to see where God's going to take us!

In other news, the SOP is almost over. It's kind of bittersweet. I'm going to miss all the friends I've made here, but I'm ready to go home and see my friends and family. I think it's the perfect time for the project to end. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has given me support financially and through prayer. It wasn't in vain! God did some amazing things in me and through me this summer! It was definitely worth it!

And now I have to start preparing to go to Minnesota. I can't wait to see what God has waiting for me there.

That's all for now!