"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life..."

As you can probably guess from the title of this post (which was obviously inspired by the well-known lyrics by The Verve), I'm in one of my thinking moods again...though not in the grieving/sad/super emotional type of mood that I was in when I posted around this time last Tuesday evening. Tonight was the last night of the Young Professionals Group that has created such a positive impact on my life over the past 7 weeks. I have been so incredibly blessed to be a part of this group, and I am pretty bummed out that it had to come to an end, but alas, there are other young professionals whose lives need to be touched by our wise and gifted leaders, so it wouldn't be fair to keep them to ourselves. Now, I'll need to find some other meaningful activity to fill the void in my Tuesday evening schedule, but I'm trying not to let myself get too down about it, because I am beyond thrilled for the amazing growth that we've all experienced together and for the new friendships that I am certain will continue to blossom and grow deeper long after tonight's "see you soon!"s have faded away. At this "transitional" stage (I think that's a pretty fitting word), it is such a relief to feel like my life is finally getting back on track, and there's this refreshing sense of spiritual rejuvenation that has come over me during these past few weeks together. Don't get me wrong, I still have lots more to sort out and I will always have plenty of room for improvement, but I'm getting to a good place where I haven't been for a while, and being able to say that with complete confidence is an awesome feeling. :)

Here are just a few of the many take-aways that really resonated with me over the past 7 weeks:

• We are all "sons and daughters of the Most High God" (and what could possibly be better than that?!)
• What we do is far less important than who we are.
• If you let your dreams become idols, God will ask you to give them up
• "If Christ is really the center of my life, where I am in 5 years is none of my business" -Phil Vischer, creator of Veggie Tales (and for the girl who thought she had her future career planned out when she was in 5th grade, this concept was extremely thought-provoking!)
• Maximum confrontation + maximum care = maximum growth
• "Don't settle for crumbs when you've been invited to the banquet table!"
• Be intentional!!!

In preparation for wrapping up our group, last week we were asked to write down 5 affirming qualities about each of our fellow group members. Near the end of tonight's session, we were each given an envelope that contained the compiled list of what everyone wrote down about us. Reading that list was incredibly touching, and it is something that I will treasure forever (and I fully intend to keep it handy for those occasional bad days when an ego boost is needed, haha).

Now for my new assignment to myself going forward:
1. Be sure to nurture these friendships and don't take them for granted
2. Find another co-ed small group to keep sustaining me through the improvements that God is making in my life and ensure that I don't backslide

And please keep praying for God to grant me wisdom (I could never get too much of that! haha). I made a promise a couple months ago that I would run in the VA Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics this Friday...Of course, the stubborn runner part of me really, really wants to follow through with my promise  (I already have the team t-shirt and submitted my leave request and everything!). But in light of my knee issue that hasn't really improved despite several weeks of rest, everyone close to me that I've discussed this with has advised against it. I did finally submit an online request to schedule an appt. with my orthopaedic doctor, so assuming they can fit me in before Friday, I guess I may have a professional opinion as to whether I should run or not...but in the event that they can't fit me in until after the race, that leaves the decision totally in my hands...and my inclination up to this point has been to run the race to the finish, even if I have to limp across the finish line, and then I'll already have an appointment set up to get it checked out. I mean heck, if my meniscus is already torn, is one more run really going to affect it? Okay, so that idea doesn't sound quite as rational in writing as it does in my head, but nonetheless, I could probably use some prayers for God to take away my stubbornness, too. :)

But let's face it, in the overall scheme of things, my knee issues are minuscule and I almost feel guilty for writing about such a meaningless topic when others out there are fighting cancer, mourning the loss of loved ones, and facing a plethora of way more important and life-changing events, so please take my selfish ramblings with a grain of salt.

Oh, and I almost forgot....June 3rd was exactly one year since my surgery for my detached retina. It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since that whole scare, but praise God for positive checkups and visual stability since then! Just one of many abundant blessings to be thankful for! :)

Okay, I've been falling back into my late-night college habits lately (except I didn't usually have to wake up at 6:40 a.m. in college), so I should probably attempt to remedy that tonight and head to bed before 1:00 (which means that I have 14 minutes left to procrastinate!). Thanks for reading and have a wonderful night, y'all!!!!