Thankful, Even Through the Challenges

Life is difficult.

Each day I am faced with a new struggle that seems to have no possible answer.

When I came home from school for the summer I planned on doing everything. I wanted to get A's in my classes, repair damaged relationships, work at the Idaho Center, work on fixing my backyards landscaping, spend time with friends more than I have in the past, finish a quilt, redo two bathrooms, get into shape, and the list goes on. I knew I wouldn't be able to do everything, but I didn't expect to be this far into the summer and have done so little.

My biggest focus this summer has been my schooling which is taking about 45 hours a week. It's also difficult to do at home, so I've been spending lots of time in coffee shops around town. This keeps me away from many of the other things I wanted to do this summer.

The past few weeks have been some of the hardest times for me because of various things.
Money is short.
Cars are breaking down.
Friends are moving away.
Family members are getting major surgeries.
Relationships have too much pressure on them.
And things just aren't going the way we planned.

I've come to a conclusion. Life was easier when I was younger and simply just didn't understand.

I like the idea of going back to being young and having my daily life consist of burying my parents car keys under my deck.

I've had several points in this summer when I simply just sat down, cried, and prayed. The strangest peace comes over one when they are talking to God.

There is one thing that is helping me a lot through this summer. 

Friendships. 

My sister, Angela,  is here at home beside me helping me each day. She has completely amazed me with her love and support through this summer. I am so grateful to have a sister here beside me. She is the one I can disagree with the most but still get a hug from when I need to. She is completely irreplaceable. I love her greatly.

My sweet, loving, caring, and amazing best friend and boyfriend Caleb is also always, always here for me. Talking with him makes everything seem better and easier. Words can't express how happy I am that he is in my life. I think I'll keep him around for a while. ;)

Karina, the friend who never gives up on me, is one of the greatest girls I know. We became friends through one of the strangest ways, and I'm so glad that we did. We've had complications like any other friendship, but she will never give up on me and she has more faith in me than even I do.

The last friend is Rosie. Rosie listens when I need to talk, and gives great advice back. She is so incredibly genuine and has been one of the biggest helps to me this summer. She is an incredible girl.

These four people are the ones in my life I could never dream of life without them. I'm so thankful for their love.

The greatest lesson I am learning this summer is to treasure the relationships I have. This may be by spending more time communicating to that friend or maybe just thinking about how great they are. One of my greatest challenges is to try to stop impressing them. My friends love me without me pretending. But there's still something in me that wants to make sure that they won't leave me. I need to try to put my pride aside and care for them like they care for me each day. I need to return the love that they give to me each day. It's not about me, it's about others.