Photo Prompt - A Sacred Place

Hey hey; Katie here!

Today I'm trying something new: a photo prompt.

Ready?

Sacred place: somewhere that at any time, you can go there to think, rest, relax. Somewhere that nothing can hurt you, or where you can let all your pain come out. Your sacred place is anything that you want it to be.

The last few days/weeks I have been extremely overwhelmed with all the changes finally sinking in. Its finally coming to my attention that college is my permanent place for the next four years (well, except summers..). Its so strange to think about how much is changing, and maybe I wasn't as ready as I thought. I am blessed to have amazing friends and family that have been my cheerleaders the past weeks without even knowing it.

Automatically, when I think of my sacred place I think of my church. I have been at the same church for 18 and a half years, so its definitely become a second home for me. But, then I thought about it some more and I happen to have many sacred places. My bed, when I need rest or comfort; Starbucks, when I just need a little boost; and almost anywhere I'm with my family. Knowing that I have so many places/people to fall back on makes everything in life a little better. Baby steps, right?

Have a happy Thursday & rest of your week!

xx Katie

Farewell For Now

1. Taking a loft bed down is quite the undertaking.
2. Have tall people help out when taking the loft down.
3. Puppies are great therapy.
4. Saying good-bye is tough.

Well, here it is. The last week of school: one more day of classes, one study day, and then three days of finals. Then by next Monday, the campus will be empty and everyone will be back home. It's sort of crazy to think of (and I'll post about that later).

This morning, Megan and I headed to church, like we usually do. It was a normal Sunday for me, but for Megan it was a different Sunday: it was her last day at church for a few months. Since she has come with me to church nearly every Sunday, she's become a 'regular' at my church and she has made connections with people outside of me. Today, Megan had to say good-bye to new friends that she won't probably see for a few months.

With this week and this year coming to a close, I'm discovering I'm going to have to say some good-byes. Good-byes are always hard, even if you are going to see them in the near future. It's even harder if you know you won't see them for quite a long while or even ever. It's tough to know that the relationship will change and the next time you see them, you may never have the same relationship as before.

But good-byes aren't all bad. Good-bye allows you to change; it allows you to grow more and beyond. Saying good-bye to a friend for a while gives you the ok to move on. Although it's painful, sometimes it's just the point in your life that requires a few farewells and for some new adventure to come along and give you something different.

So although I'm going to be saying goodbye for only a few months, I'm still giving myself and others the OK to move beyond - to grow apart, discover new things about ourselves then come back in the fall and be able to show off what we've found out about ourselves and the world around us. Then, once we've shared, a whole new adventure can begin together - we will be forever growing.

Peace!

-Nicole