Sin… I’ve got plenty of it. This past week God chose to slap me in the face with it. Things that I’ve tried to tuck under the bed and ignore, things that I’ve tried to deal with head on and failed; they all surfaced this week and needed to be addressed. I’m hopeless, and not just hopeless like I need a little help here God, hopeless as in I just can’t do it by myself! Every choice I make on my own seems to be the wrong one. Click to continue »
Do you ever see summer as an interruption to life? You finally develop a routine and then you pull out of it for three months only to start all over again in the fall. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anyone would want to wish away their summer holiday, and I’m not about to. However, I don’t want the summer to be a three month sabbatical from any kind of growth, but instead a time to rediscover my purpose and confirm God’s direction for my life. Click to continue »
It is back to reality for Sheryce Butkowski. On my plane ride home, my mind was flooded with questions. What will it be like to live at home again? How will I like my job? Will I be able to get my life in order? What will it be like to reconnect with my high school friends? Will my friends see how much I have changed? Will my family see my changes? How will I be able to save the money I need to return to Covenant next year? How can I make a difference in people’s lives this summer? God, who do you want me to encourage spiritually? Click to continue »
New York City, what an incredible way to begin my summer! The glitz and glamour, family, laughter, shopping, subways, Time Square, all the hustle and bustle that kept my head turning, and Alyssa’s graduation from The King’s College consumed my week. ALL PLAY…no work! Now that is what I call a vacation…a much needed vacation from the stress of walking through my final weeks at Covenant College. Joining my family was the highlight. With everyone so scattered it is rare that we find a way to all get together. Click to continue »
I enjoyed a long car ride with my dad, 8 1/2 hours to be exact. He caught me up on all that had been going on at home, I caught him up on my life, I spent part of the time quietly reminiscing the year and YES, some of it was spent getting some much needed sleep after a long night of packing and cleaning.
As I walked into the house a delicious aroma filled the air. Could it be??? Yes, dinner was on the table and we all sat down to my first home cooked meal. What a treat! The rest of the evening we just hung out together sharing stories and laughter over coffee and tea. The obnoxious sound of dad throwing Chester’s bone across our wooden floor and Chester dashing over people and furniture to retrieve it made it all real. Truly, I was HOME, and it felt so good! The highlight of the evening was a SURPRISE! Mom and dad bought me a ticket to join them in New York for my sister, Alyssa’s , graduation. We leave Wednesday. I AM SO EXCITED! Click to continue »
Friday was full of experiencing my “lasts” as I closed out my freshman year at Covenant. The hardest was sending off my “last” roommate. I came back to an empty room that came alive as I relived some of our precious memories we created together. How I wanted to just sit there and veg…but my room was calling for my attention and my things needed to get packed. A friend came to keep me company as I packed, I think he knew how hard it was for me to say goodbye to everyone. Click to continue »
I’m FINISHED! My exams are over and it is such a relief! I said good-bye to two of my roommates yesterday and I feel like part of my heart went with them. It’s amazing how close we got this year, and it’s hard to imagine that when we come back in the fall we won’t all be rooming together again. My emotions are up and down as we continue to empty our room. My things are scattered from one end of the room to the other. I keep procrastinating…not wanting to waste time packing when there is still time I can spend with my friends. My other two roommates leave tomorrow, and then it will be easier to dig in and box up all my belongings.
So, instead of packing, I have been recuperating from finals and bidding my friends farewell. As excited as I am to see my family, especially my little nephew who is now over a year old, I am having a hard time imagining being away from everyone at Covenant for 3 months. I was talking to a friend a while back about my fears of leaving for the summer and she said, “Although, it does feel really weird the first time, you get used to it. And when you come back, things just pick up right where they left off.” I needed to hear that.
Wow, I can’t believe it… I’m a sophomore! Life goes by so fast, doesn’t it? Another page is turned. I feel like I should be a much wiser person now…hmmm….I don’t know about that. But, I do know I’ve changed a lot this year. Will they see the changes as well…I wonder?
I’m tired…you know that feeling you get when you see everything that you still have to do and the end is nowhere in sight. It’s the overwhelming exhaustion that comes with 5 tests, having to say goodbye to friends, and not having any sleep. So, all you can do is live it out, hour by hour, watching the moments drift away. On one hand I wish they would pass quickly because then I would have it all behind me…but on the other hand I know that when the tests are over, so is this year. So, I’m trying to finish strong and enjoy the last 2 days of my freshman year at Covenant.