I read a BuzzFeed list a few months ago that ranked the years in your 20's from worst to best. 23 was ranked as the worst, and as of today, I have passed from that year.
Don't get me wrong. I am very thankful for the past year. 23 saw me through my first year of graduate school, my first year as an RD at Milligan. It brought me Ben. And even on the very hard days, it brought me new knowledge and understanding about myself and life and God. So today isn't a thankless "good riddance" to 23. It's more of a retirement party, a "thanks for your service."
And now, 24.
I know it's just a number and to everyone but me, it's just another day and nothing really changes. But I love arbitrary "fresh starts" and I am ready to hit 24 head on. 24 will see me through the remainder of grad school - through a 600 hour internship and my last three semesters of class. 24 will see me through opportunities that I don't even know about yet. And, if I choose it, 24 can see me through growth - in my relationships, my spiritual walk, my yoga practice, everything. So I choose it.
In case you're wondering, I don't remember what that BuzzFeed list ranked 24 as. And I don't care, because I'm thankful for where I'm at and I'm going to embrace it. That makes it the best.
Top Ten Lessons I Have Learned in Counseling Practicum Thus Far
10. If you have parents who care about you, be thankful.
9. If you have parents who don't do drugs, be thankful.
8. If you got to spend your childhood actually "being a kid", be thankful.
7. If you aren't on 10 different prescription medications, be thankful.
6. If you have clothes and food and a place to sleep, be thankful.
5. If you can read, be thankful.
4. If you know Jesus, be thankful.
3. If you have graduated, be thankful.
2. If you have at least one person who believes in you, be thankful.
1. Healing can happen. Be thankful.
Spring, 2010
"And now, dear lady, I am not writing to you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
2 John 5-6
I know that I don't have to tell anyone reading this that sometimes life gets chaotic. Don't worry - I'm not writing to complain. Not in the least. I'm writing this because God always takes my chaos and turns it into something beautiful.
There's a lot I don't - and will never - understand. I have a lot to learn. I am dramatically flawed, just as we all are. But God is pouring Himself out on me and giving me some new perspective. Discovering and living out His will is a daily thing, but there is one thing that I am absolutely sure of: I am called to love people. Simple. Not easy. Worth it.
There are so many decisions to be made in the coming years about both here at Milligan and after. But I know that those will come with time. One thing that is clear is that, right now, I am supposed to be pouring into others. I don't have it all together. I'm not going to be a perfect encourager and friend by any means. But I'm going to do my best to lift others up, because everyone needs that. Everyone.
My first attempt at this is as follows: I'm going to try to articulate and expound upon a conversation I had with a beautiful sister in Christ last week.
My friend and I were talking about our views of God and she described this beautiful picture of God as our Father, our Friend, and our Lover. It was interesting to think of God in those three contexts at the same time. It was easy for me to grasp the Father and Friend concepts, but God as a lover, one who is pursuing me, one who loves me with a passion...that's not something I had considered much. But it is so true. My friend described how she feels about this, and since then I have paid close attention.
God chases after us. He is relentless in his pursuit. I feel his hugs in the warmth of the sun and I hear his whispers in the wind. When I lie down to sleep, I know he is holding me, keeping me safe from anything that might try to harm me. When I am upset, he wants to be the first one I run to. He listens. He allows me to give my time to others, but sometimes he just wants me all to himself. I think he smiles when I smile, and laughs when I laugh. And I know that he gets jealous when I don't give him everything. He's chosen me - all of us - and he's not giving up.
I am loved, no matter how irrational that seems. Life is irrational, and love - a force so much greater that even life - must be irrational, or it would be commonplace. My God isn't common. He is extraordinary, and He is love. Love cannot be boxed in. Love knows no bounds. Love makes absolutely no sense. But the God who created those starts and flowers and butterflies also created me. And He thinks I'm beautiful.
Listen to His love song.
Summer, 2014
Over four years later, this is still true. Life is so different, but I find myself relating to sophomore-in-college Corri so well here. Love is a concept that I enjoy exploring, and I am thankful that God gives us such strong examples of his love, through things he does and through others.
Happy Thursday!
As many of you know, yoga has become my favorite obsession over the past 5 months. Today I wanted to share with you my favorite online yoga sites so that you can give them a try if you're curious!
Do Yoga With Me - This is the site I credit for starting the yoga fire in my heart! Thanks to the lovely Meagan Smith, who told me about it, I visited this site for the first time in January and never looked back. There are hundreds of free videos, and you can filter through them by level, yoga style, and duration to find one that suits your mood and needs for the day. I started with this sequence for shoulder and arm strength and I've been hooked ever since!
Yoga Journal - This site has a more limited selection of videos, but it is full of demos and information for the new yogi! I don't know about you, but once I got started, I wanted to learn all I could about the practice. Check out the articles and the individual pose tutorials.
Yoga International - This one is a new favorite! I started following them on Twitter, and they tweet links to awesome videos all the time!
These are my top three, but there are so many! There is no excuse not to give yoga a try!
Top Ten Odd Collections in my Apartment
10. Bottle caps
9. Dish towels
8. Tea
7. Tea tags
6. Things covered in tea tags
5. Books that haven't been read
4. Candles I bought on clearance
3. Boxes of tickets, programs, and cards
2. Magazines to cut things out of
1. And my newest collection of photos of my staff girls, framed and hanging in the hall
Progress. It's a funny thing. Sometimes we feel like we're making great progress only to find that we haven't come far at all. Other times, things do change, little by little, until a milestone is reached and progress is apparent. This story is about the latter.
In August 2013, I began my job as an RD at Milligan. During training for the RAs, we went to do a ropes course. It had been a long, long, long, long, LONG time since I'd done a ropes course, and I was still in physical therapy for my shoulder. So when the vertical challenge climb came up, I made it about 1/3 of the way up before I had to come down. I watched many of the others in the group make it higher and higher, many to the very top (I'm estimating somewhere between 80-100 feet up into the trees), and I couldn't help but feel a bit defeated, not being strong enough to make it to the top.
On May 25th, 2014, my group counseling class took a trip back to the same ropes course, and we did the same vertical challenge climb. I wanted so badly to make it to the top. I knew I was stronger, but was it enough? I've just been doing yoga. Does that make me strong enough to climb? I didn't even make it halfway last time. Blah blah blah.
I had my harness on and they hooked me up, and I started climbing, and I kept climbing, and my arms were hurting and my legs were shaking and I felt the old injury burning in my shoulder, and I kept climbing. And I stopped to catch my breath and noticed that my mouth was totally dry and my heart was beating fast and then I started climbing again. My classmates encouraged me from the ground and I kept climbing. And then I rang that cowbell and looked down from the top of the course and I smiled.
This experience was a tangible proof of physical progress for me. But I've also seen progress in so many other areas since August. I am more dedicated to time spent in the Bible. I've finally found a church that I call home. I've found yoga and devote time to it every day. I am in a healthy relationship. My anxiety is under control. Friendships are blossoming. School is going well. Big leaps, small steps, progress.
Things are not perfect. If perfect was attainable, then there would be no more progress. And I am thankful for that. I'm learning that seeing progress is far more satisfying than perfection could be this side of heaven. So here's to progress.
Top Ten Ways I'm Going Green (On a Budget)
10. Eliminating paper towels. I've invested in a good supply of cloth dish towels for cleaning. I'm not spending money on paper towels every few weeks and I'm not throwing them away either!
9. Reusable shopping bags. You'd think this one would be a no-brainer, but I can't tell you how many times I've just forgotten the bags at home - or worse, in the car. I'm committing to not bringing home any more plastic bags!
8. Wooden pencils. Yes, the point of mechanical pencils is that you can refill them and reuse them. But I know myself, and I know that I am much more likely to throw the pencil away and grab a new one than I am to buy little packs of graphite. So I'm opting for old-school wooden pencils. Use them up and they're just gone!
7. Real dishes. Plastic silverware is convenient for parties, and the styrofoam cups in the library are perfect - but I think it is worth inconveniencing myself to keep from being wasteful. So I'm taking real mugs to the library and carrying dinner to class in reusable containers. Maybe it means more dishes to wash, but that's ok.
6. Looking for opportunities to repurpose. The coffee canister is empty - I could toss it OR I could use it to store my next batch of coffee beans. Just think it through!
5. Embrace nature. If it's the middle of the afternoon, do I need all of the lights in my house on? No, unless the sky is black and ominous from an impending storm. Open windows! Draw the blinds!
4. Research. This one will take time and effort, but I want to know more about where things come from. I want to buy food and products that are produced responsibly and without hurting the planet - or people. This concept goes beyond "green" - I think caring about the earth means caring about the people who inhabit it. So be aware of where things come from and don't support companies that don't take care of their employees (again, this will take time - if you have any good resources on the topic, send them my way!).
3. Less paper. As much as it pains me to read books and articles on screens, it really is better in terms of eliminating waste. Don't get crazy - I will ALWAYS be pro-paper book. But now as I do research for a presentation, I don't need to print all the articles. I don't need to buy magazines when I can usually find the article online. I can downsize. And of course, what paper I do use I can recycle!
2. Being a thoughtful shopper. I've recently realized how much food I waste. It's a challenge cooking for one. I'll make a bunch of something, save the leftovers, and never get around to eating them. So this means taking more frequent trips to the store and buying just what I need for the next few days. As long as I'm on my own, I don't need to stock up on a lot or cook huge portions. Time to think it through.
1. And at last, now that it is warm, I can walk to class and other places on campus and not drive like a lazy bum.
