So I have recently discovered something. I epically fail at keeping a blog...at least keeping it updated. It's not like I've been too busy or anything, I just haven't felt all that motivated to write.
As you can imagine, I am no longer in Oxford...so right now the title of the blog would be more accurate as "Abby's lack of Adventures in Loveland". It's been a really strange summer so far. If you had asked me a year ago, heck even at the end of the school year, what I thought summer would be like...I wouldn't have come close.
I somewhat mentioned previously summer started out rather uglily (that's probably not a word but it works). My cat of 16+ years passed away while I was at school (right before finals) and that was pretty rough. My grandma was diagnosed with fairly advanced breast cancer and suffered a heart attack. Another distant cousin was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. And last week another one of my kitties was hit by a car (killing her and her unborn kittens instantly). So all in all, it's been rough but that's not the weird part of the summer.
The weird part is how God saw those sorrows and began to mend them (okay maybe it's not weird because that's just who God is, it just blows me away). Not a week after Marky died, two of our former kittens had kittens of their own. We now have seven of the most adorable little baby cats in the world. The pain of loosing Mark is still there but as my little sister said "Nothing mends a broken heart like a new born kitten". Now this next one is really a miracle. My grandma had been complaining of some classic heart attack symptoms and my grandpa (being a former EMT) recognized it immediately, called the ambulance and starting prepping my grandma for the ride to the hospital. My grandpa had her set up in a way that the EMT guys basically only had to put in the ambulance and drive. They rushed her to the hospital and almost right away they took her into surgery and performed an angioplasty. One of the arteries going to her heart was nearly 95% (that may or may not be exaggerated) blocked. The doctor said had they not performed the surgery when they did, she would have died (it truly was a miracle). They also learned that the type of breast cancer my grandma has can be treated with hormones and she might not need the chemo. The other two situations have had no immediate resolutions. Jayme starts chemo and radiation this week (y'all can pray for her and her family) and we still miss Georgy a lot but Mungu Anaweza (Swahili for God is able...I stole that from a friend's status, thanks Nate!). It just blows me away. I was feeling pretty helpless and I dreaded praying about these needs because I didn't want to admit to myself that it was as bad as it really was. That's where God came in too. I was at a loss and kind of rebelling against praying and God met those needs anyway. He is faithful when I am not.
Whew! I feel a bit out of breath after writing all that.
I was really dreading coming home for the summer. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my family and LOVE being around them but I was really going to miss my friends and the freedom I had at Miami. I thought all the friends I had made at the end of the school year would disappear into a cloud of smoke. In my mind summer was the place friendships went to die. Well, I was wrong (thank GOD...literally). Admittedly I haven't gotten to do much with my friends from high school, which is mostly my fault for not taking the initiative and that's a little different than I imagined. But the weird thing is the friends I made at Miami aren't going away, if anything those relationships are stronger than they've ever been (which, again, is not how I saw it). Who knew things like IM and Facebook would actually help me form real meaningful relationships? Strange...
Another thing that didn't go as planned is I didn't get a summer job (not for lack of trying mind you). But I'm not going to dwell on that.
This next bit will be a random praises. I finally got my drivers' license (the entire time I was entire humming "Jesus take the wheel" (which again is weird because I hate that song and country music in general) mumbling "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13) and we got a car, a nice little green Honda (named Carl or Carlotta depending on who you ask). We have a new baby boy in the family, my cousin James Anthony Diss Jr. was born at the end of June...the first Diss boy in 30 years.
Another thing that's been strange for me is how I feel. I feel different than I did a year ago. A good different I think. I don't know why and I really can't explain the how. Maybe it's all about growing up, I don't know...I'm at a loss.
So this summer has really been all about God's plans not being my plans and me learning His plans are the best.
I'll end with this (something that has been whispered to me throughout the summer) today:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. --- Jeremiah 29:11-13
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