On Christmas Eve, the family went to church and then we have a tradition of eating at Claim Jumper afterwards. The best part about that was our good family friends (the Ponsfords) ended up coming to church with us and dinner (and they were so awesome to help out my dad with paying for dinner....they're such an awesome family). Mama Ponsford is a nurse and has given me some good advice about nursing schools (she went to Azusa Pacific, where I wanna go). Anyway, our other tradition is to open family gifts to each other on Christmas Eve...and my sisters and brother got me awesome and thoughtful gifts. My older sis got all of us girls matching PJ's which we wore that night. Then, we slept at mom & dad's that night and woke up in the morning to open gifts from mom & dad. They got all of us amazing gifts and we so thoughtful and I am so grateful. Even though the last half a year has been difficult for the family, we were able to pull together and be content with making Christmas about being with each other. We even made homemade taco's for dinner on Christmas. (Thanks for all your prayers for my family, and please keep 'em coming!)
It was pretty weird to see quite a few people from the India team at the Christmas services. We were suppose to have left for India two days later. It's been a journey even the last couple days since I am home (i.e., not in India). I have had a few days off lately and have decided to use that time to be doing more research about nursing schools and all that jazz. It definitely brought up a lot for me about my future and in particular fear. This past April I applied to the UCI bachelors nursing program and did not get in. I found out that they had only 11 spots to fill, but that out of one hundred applicants, I placed number thirty-nine. It was the only school I had applied to at that point, and it definitely hurt. Don't get me wrong, I know that it's not the worst thing that could happen, and the odds weren't good to begin with and now I have so many more amazing possibilities that I quite frankly didn't realize before. However, lately the fear of rejection has resurfacing. The good part is that I recognize it, I know the falsehood in it, and am not giving into the fear. One way I am doing this is by being all over the nursing applications and being in communication with the nursing schools I want to apply to. It's so interesting that simply being at home has resurfaced this stuff, and has caused me to be active in my passion for being a nurse. It just gives me the feeling that God has a purpose for becoming a nurse, and for the India trip being rescheduled. It feels so much bigger than myself and God uses everything for good. So again, thank you all for your prayers through all of these things and I really encourage you all to continue to pray!!!!
I know that this is a somewhat deep blog, but thanks for hearing me out and know that I have joy through all of this and am leaning on the LORD. On a lighter note, I visited
the "Magic Kingdom" today (Disneyland) and was able to have fun there (I haven't been in a little over 4 years). It was a fun way to spend New Years day. I have some great friends in my life and a great family who love me and are there for me!!!
Oh, and here are some "Happy Birthday Jesus" bubbles to celebrate (even if it is a week late). I thought they were cute, and interesting to see the way Jesus is marketed (but it does teach little kids it's His birthday, right?
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