a light in my room.

14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light for everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

If ever I have known someone to embody the Gospel of Christ, to live the commands of the Word as if they were written on her heart each day, and to shine the light of Christ consistently, its my precious roommate Stacey. 

I saw Stacey for the first time my freshman year of college. She was visiting a camp friend at Union and she came with her to the Make-A-Wish 5K that Chi Omega put on each year. I saw her at a distance with one pants leg pushed up, crazy curls going everywhere, and a head band tied around her forehead. I thought she was a hippie, but she looked pretty exciting. 

I met Stacey for the first time my sophomore year of college. She transferred to Union from Appalachian State and I went with my roommate Lauren to her room on move in day. We were in search for Stacey's roommate Katie, but when she wasn't in the room Lauren and I talked with Stacey for almost 30 minutes. I had no idea the influence Stace would have on my life in the next two years.

Stacey rushed, pledge Chi O, but dropped after one semester. Second semester of my sophomore year she started spending a lot of time in my room as her and Lauren became close. At the end of the spring semester, Lauren asked if I would consider living with Stace in the fall. Let me just explain a little bit about Stacey: 

Get the picture? She's awesome. Crazy. Exciting. Wild. Fun. Hysterical. And more than I knew how to handle at the time. But we decided to live together in the fall of my junior year with Lauren and Kendra. Junior year started and I wasn't as close to Stace still. I was busy with GM stuff, and spent most of my time with the babies, or friends in 305, or asleep. I was missing out on the sweet roommates I had in my own room.

At the end of junior fall, I found out Mattie, Lauren and Olivia would all be gone in the spring semester. Stace instantly recognized my need for friendship and intentional relationships, something she is good at. Stace is a perceiver, she recognizes needs often before I know they exist. She is also intentional, and deliberate in her words of encouragement. This was something that God knew I would need this past semester.

As soon as we came back for this semester, God began using Stacey to rock my world and challenge my faith. Stacey is honestly one of the most devoted followers of Christ I have ever met. And I don't mean in the way where someone does a lot at church, but forgets about God in their everyday living. Stacey is legitimately on fire for God. She spends hours locked away in her room, crying, laughing, praying, worshipping and talking with God. She asks for guidance, she seeks wisdom, she lifts up those around her, she prays for the needs of her friends and enemies and strangers, she seeks the kingdom daily. She talks about God in her normal conversation, her lips are full of truth, and her conversation seasoned with salt and grace. She is joyful, hilarious, passionate, loving, patient, forgiving, honest, intentional, and kind-hearted. She uplifts, she is never selfish, she is always giving, always serving, always putting others first. In fact, she would hate that I have spent so much time bragging about her because she would rather me give the glory to God than talk about all the ways she is good.

But in all honestly, that is the only thing I can do to give justice to my Stacey. She is love, and God has used her radically to challenge me and hold me accountable and pour into my heart. God has given Stacey words of encouragement and wisdom that reflect a heart after Him. He has used her at my weakest moments to remind me of His faithfulness and goodness. When I am tired, she brings me Starbucks. When I am sad, she listens to me cry and gently prods me to share my life with her, despite my best attempts to convince her I have it under control. Stacey is truly a Godsend, the biggest blessing my life has ever known. I could never have imagined all the ways the Lord would challenge me through her. She embodies the Gospel definition of a servant, and for all the ways she has impacted the lives of those on this campus, we will never see until we worship in Heaven with the cluster of lives she has brought into the kingdom.

it's been a while..

This semester has been busy, busy, busy! Time has flown by, and now it's the last weekend of my junior year in college. Life changed a lot over the past few months, and I could not have imagined being where I am currently if you had asked around Christmas time.

January was exciting as I worked at Shades and got to experience the working side of ministry. I spent good time at home, and established a bit of a routine driving to Jackson for night class each Tuesday and working during the week. I think it helped prepare me for the semester, as well as get me into the basics of work at Shades for the summer.

February was exciting from the beginning. My living situation changed from last semester since Lauren went to Africa, and I had the opportunity to get much closer to Stacey and Kendra, my two roommates from last semester. Mattie moved back to Louisiana and Olivia got married and moved to Texas. I was nervous what the semester would look like, but I clung to Joshua 1:5 and constantly reminded myself that the Lord was with me through changes, through good and through bad. He faithfully placed friends in my life that had been there all along, but that I took for granted.

I began serving in a ministry called Fulfill at Englewood with the middle school ministry. I met a girl named Anna who has some sort of social disorder, I haven't quite figured out, but she completely captured my heart. She is often made fun of for being overweight for her age, and for being unable to interact with the other students easily. I noticed that even at church, she does not receive attention or love from many of her peers or even the adults. I think this is mainly because people don't really know what to do with her, she's hard to be around! But I consistently spent time with her, sitting with her at church each week and doing anything I could think of to get her to smile and share her life with me. It was a challenge the last few months but the Lord slowly softened her heart and helped her truly open up to me.

March got into the daily grind of my classes and Chi Omega, things were picking up. I was able to plan some fun events as Sisterhood chair in Chi O and was getting deeper in my relationships with new friends. The Lord was faithfully reminding me He is enough to sustain, and I began to focus more on my everyday life in terms of serving Christ. Fulfill was challenging and my relationship with Anna was getting deeper as she confided in me about how hard school is socially and how she often feels unloved.

I got to go home for spring break, then spent a few days in Clinton, then got to visit Mattie in Pineville, Louisiana. It was so much fun. I love getting to experience my friends from college in their natural home environment. I feel as if I learn so much from someone's family and home, but rarely get to see that in college. We went to the local coffee shops she spends most of her morning time in, we ate with her family, played games, I went to class with her and got to experience her school life. We drove around town and she even let me come to work and squeeze behind the tiny counter of the tiny flower/gift shop she works in at the hospital. I got to meet her friends and see where she goes when she just wants to get away. I got to go to Bible study at her house led by her parents, and I got to see the church her dad pastors. It was such an exciting week and allowed us to catch up and spend good quality time together. I would go back today if I could!

April showers hit hard. We had a lot of storms blow through and I spent a lot of time in my friend's tornado shelter bathroom. School was busy, and I was beginning to grow weary with the pace of life. After a rough weekend where God really shook my heart, I was learning a LOT about what it means to put my security and trust in the Lord. He reminded me gently, but constantly, that HE is the only one who can satisfy, the only one who gives me worth, the only one who makes me beautiful. If I am not pleasing him, how can I be content? Pleasing man is worthless and God must be the one I am fighting for. This month was rough, but consistently good as God revealed pieces of His character to me.

May has been busy and flying by. All of a sudden it's time to leave, my walls are bare, and I am getting ready for my internship at Shades this summer. I am excited for the responsibility of ministry, the opportunity to lead a Bible study lesson a few times, plan events, meet with girls, and have the accountability of intentional discipleship. I am eager to see what the Lord reveals and challenges me with this summer. I am excited for the chance to deepen and grow already existing relationships, as well as develop new friendships. I am also excited to prepare for next fall, my last normal semester before my practicum in social work. Time flies by, but I am constantly learning to seek God on a daily basis and surrender my desires and plans to Him. He is enough!!