Boarding the Right Plane

What I love most about being here at Taylor is the huge amount of support and encouragement I receive everyday.  A day doesn't pass without someone offering to help me with homework or asking for prayer requests.  The community is so tightly knit and everyone so kind and generous.  It's a struggle to switch majors halfway through the semester. By then It's too late to drop classes.  In some ways I feel like I've boarded the wrong plane headed towards somewhere I don't want to be. My fellow passengers know exactly where they're going with supplies and appropriate baggage. I am resolved to constantly remind myself that God is in control.  I ignore the odd expressions when I explain my change of majors.  I study and do labs in the Science complex all the while knowing it's only for a semester.  Though my connecting flight will take me in the opposite direction, I am so glad to be at Taylor.  Studying Science or Studying Professional Writing, I can see the hand of God on this campus. It moves people to tears in chapel.  It stirs laughter and good fellowship in the Dining Commons.  The semester is half over, yet my time here seems but a few weeks.  When I measure my spiritual growth I realize how far I have come.  God is good in all things.  Every good and perfect thing comes from him.  And even in my darkest hour, He is always there.  The days of turbulence are difficult but scarce.  In God's hands I feel like I'm sky sailing.

There's More to Explore

You know that time of night when the sky is completely dark but so clear that little stars pop out like holes.  The sky is a blanket spotted with holes of light that twinkle.  Stars are amazing. As a sleepy sun falls over the horizon they emerge one by one.  The biggest are the boldest; they appear first. And they stay there all night before darkness turns to light. There is a point on campus between the dining commons and my dorm where the walkway is completely dark.  Your eyes can't help but lift to the heavens.  And you see stars, bright pockets of light.  They twinkle, play, laugh, some even dance.  At this point you realize they are endless,  millions in every direction.  Suddenly you feel small, a mere molecule in a vast complex organism.  The Lord stretches out the heavens with the span of his hand.  What a mighty God we serve.  With one hand he can reach across the heavens and hold the stars.  With the same hand he holds you.

Parent's Weekend

A weekend to show your parents around your new home.  A few days to tell them about your college life.  A few hours to explain what you are learning in school.  A brief moment of hugs and goodbyes.  And then they're gone.  Your dorm room feels just as empty and lonely as when they first dropped  you off. Though my family was only here for an evening, parents weekend was nonstop fun and excitement.  Friday night consisted of a play performance, a soccer game, and a concert in the chapel. Due to the cold windy rain I chose the concert.

 Rain showered down from the dark night sky as my roommate and I splashed across campus huddled under umbrellas.  My heavy boots kept my feet more dry than warm. Inside the chapel the air was crisp and chill.  Musicians crowded the stage making all kinds of noise.  A little conductor found his way on stage and a hush grew over the auditorium. My eyes were closed before they even started and the sound of applause woke me up a short time later.  It's strange in college how the first moment you get to rest your eyes, they refuse to open.  Though my eyes gave out on me, my ears did not.  The music was pleasant consisting of a variation.  It trailed from American big band music to sweet traditional hymns.

Sleep overwhelmed me and forced me to leave at intermission. The cold rain accompanied  me back to my dorm. The following morning I planned to run a 5K.  Running used to be my passion.  It would motivate me to get up at 6am so I could get enough of it before school. When I ran, the world seemed like such a beautiful place.  I heard birds more clearly and saw nature from a different perspective. The following morning was far from pleasant. A biting cold surprised my running partner and me.  We scuffled over to the track and signed up for the race.  Half an hour later found us in a mass of people waiting for the gunfire.

 To my disappointment a man simply shouted "GO" and we were off.  No gunfire.  A sleepy sun peaked out over the horizon shooting brilliant lights of color into the sky.  My hands were frozen.  My feet were numb. The wind tugged at my hair and beat against my hoody.  The mass of people spread out rather quickly.  We walked and ran, walked and ran some more.  Then came the softball field, two inches in water. The ice cold water leaked into my shoes.  We ran faster to quickly end this miserable experience.  In the last 200 meters I was glad I ran the 5K. It's all worth it in the end. In the end I was just happy my asthma didn't act up.
My family arrived that evening.  Their faces lit up my own.  It's funny how absence, though it makes the heart grow fonder, causes you to appreciate your family so very much.  

Falling into Autumn

Does college kill a person's imagination, or do my best blog ideas simply disappear when I have the time to write them?  The best blog ideas happen during lectures.  Dr. Whipple, peeking over his enormous beard, sketches away at the cytoplasm of a cell.  I frantically try to take notes.  My blue pen scribbles a mess of cell parts here and there.  It always happens that my mind wanders elsewhere during lecture. As soon as my eyes find the window, I'm gone.  My eyes journey back to my page, but my pen has strayed from taking notes.

 It finds  an empty corner and begins sketching little pictures of cells.  Happy cells, sad cells, hungry cells.  I pipe grass along the bottom of my page and sprout flowers.  My pen forms rigid tree trunks which evolve into long branches.  Leaves appear and my pen gives them a tainted autumn color.  Some of the leaves glide down to the sitting cell faces.  The hungry cell now has something to eat.

In the span of our 50 minute class, little pictures clutter the white board. According to upperclassmen, whatever Whipple puts on the board will be on the test.  But why do his ribosomes look like corn on the cob, while the cell membrane takes the form of a juicy steak. Cell Bio is just before lunch, unlike Cell lab which is right after lunch.  Lab is meticulous but fun.  At some point I hope to explore stream water under a microscope.

On my way to class everyday I walk across a laughing brook.  Gurgling water races over rocks and sweeps through seaweed   It makes the flowers dance and paints the stones orange.  The water is clear and loud.  I love hearing it splash.  A gust of wind carries a painted leaf down from the trees. The leaf mirrors its reflection in the water until the brook catches it up.  And then it's gone,  faster than a college weekend.  Fall colors are not all that visible right now.  Walking across campus you see a clearing over the countryside. But it's really the trees that catch your eyes. They are as noticeable as TU's famous bell tower.  They wave their strong branches showing off their rich dark colors. The colors have appeared so fast that it's almost like little fairies have come in the night.  With paint and brush they have decorated the trees with brilliant colors.