So, here’s an update on my life, just in case some of you were wondering what I’ve been up to. Whereas your average college / uni student would be finished school for the year (unless taking summer classes), us aviation students are still here, plugging away. Well, not really. We get to fly airplanes. It’s pretty rad. I never thought I’d be where I am, with the knowledge that I have. And I still know so little. But it’s okay, because I see where I’ve come from, and that is super encouraging.

            This past weekend was the big grad weekend. It marked the end of a crazy experience for a lot of people. I made some really good friends in this short time; people I would trust with my life. This weekend I had to say goodbye to many of them. Seeing them graduate from the EMS program made me so proud. I cannot explain why, it just did. Heidi, Sam, Dan, Steven – I will miss you all. It has been a blessing beyond words to have been friends with you all. I am sad to say goodbye, but I will cherish my memories with you for a long time.

            With most people leaving Prairie for the summer, it has become very quiet here. I miss the people who have left, and some days are worse than others in that respect. I seem to have to relearn how to call on God in my sadness. But He is such a comfort to me.

            He is – Jehovah Jirah. The LORD provides.

            Due to a number of reasons (the majority financial), I found it necessary to move off campus. This was not an easy process, as I did not meet the standard requirements to be able to live off-campus. This Monday I hit rock bottom. I was told that I would have to stay in dorms. I began calculating expenses and found that I would not have much money left to put toward flying (actually, I would have had none). I began to try to figure out the options that I had left. I came to the realization that going home to Abbotsford might be the only plausible course of action. This, of course, devastated me. I love the people here. I love PSMA. I love how they love God. Three Hills, in all its smallness, had become a home to me. I would not see some people anymore who mean the world to me.

            I spent that day trying to keep busy, talking to people, sending emails, seeing if I couldn’t figure out something. But at the end of the day, I was weary, in tears and begging God to please, somehow, figure something out for me.

            I’ll tell you something. He hears. And while he doesn’t always answer us with an immediate ‘yes’, he did this time. I have been approved to live off-campus in a place with cheap rent, utilities included, and loads of food to be eaten where I could stay long term. I cannot fathom how or why, but I do know that God used a few people to make things happen on my behalf. And I am so grateful. If it had been time for me to leave Prairie, I would have accepted that God wanted me elsewhere. But I am so thankful that I am here now.

            Despite finances being tight, and not knowing where the next bit of money is coming from, I have peace knowing that God has, is, and will provide.

            Oh yeah. I also soloed this week. That was rad. And I passed my Transport Canada PPL written exam. Woot!

“For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” Psalm 57:10-11

Sometimes, there are some things that nobody in your social networking world needs to know. I’m not sure about other people, but I could do without hour-by-hour updates of peoples’ lives. All 294 of your friends need not know about your anger towards your ex who cheated on you and then broke up with you bla bla bla. Or about the particularly horrid week that you’ve been experienced. Or about how depressed you are, and how mad you are at life in general.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I don’t care (well, depends…). It’s just that when I see statuses like that, I get really sad. We are well-fed. We live in mansions, compared to the homes of people in undeveloped countries. We have (far too many) clothes on our backs (how long does it take you to choose an outfit? There’s your answer). Many of us have the latest iPhone or Blackberry or what-have-you. Our sense of entitlement is sickening. And I am not exempt from this, either. We expect everything to go according to our plans, and when the smallest thing derails, we freak out. And it disgusts me to hear of it repeatedly on Facebook.

Now please, do not misunderstand me. I know that some situations are painful and real, and posting things on Facebook is often a way of reaching out and seeking sympathy without explicitly asking. I’ve done it myself. But I’ve also found that reaching out to a specific friend, in person (or even better, reaching out to God, but I know that some of you will disagree) is a more effective remedy for pain than any cyber-rant can ever be.

So, a challenge that I’ve been giving myself is this: every time I feel inclined to post a status, I try to make it positive, or sometimes humorous. I want to write about the joys in my life and focus on those, rather than my complaints.

I’ve been reading through the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, which is taking longer than I thought. On top of that, I just bought The Once and Future King from the local used bookstore. I had started reading it last year, and never finished it before I had to return it to the library. Now, I have another freaking huge book to read; my brother bought me Inheritance for Christmas!! Along with some textbooks and some for fun reading, I have too many books and too little time!

There could be worse things… haha.