hmm

so, i've figured out how to work this thing.

Yesterday was senior skip day and I went to the beach with some of my friends. I was standing on the sand where the water comes and meets the shore. There were no waves and the ocean was really flat. I looked out into the horizon and it was so beautiful. It's hard to imagine that God did all of that and could turn the flatness into waves. Then I started thinking about how blessed I am. God has given me so much and sometimes I turn away from Him. It's hard to think that after all I've done, He still loves me and forgives me. On Tuesday, my cousin Matthew came home from Jacksonville after being there for over 2 months. The week before, my family didn't think that he would be able to come home until another month. But he came home Tuesday. The doctors were somewhat stunned at his recovery from the transplant. That was a total God thing and it's so wonderful. Even though Matthew's entire house has to be sprayed and cleaned with rubbing alcohol and he can't go outside without a mask over his mouth, he's still home. Him being home showed me the power of prayer. A lot of people came up to me and told me that they've been praying for Matthew everyday. My whole family was too. And it's so wonderful that he's finally home. We all can be together again. It was hard for my family because we're all used to being together for dinner on Sunday nights and going out for dinner on certain days. As a result of Matthew and his mom being in Jacksonville, my grandma was taking care of his sister, Niki. She went to Jacksonville every weekend so Niki could see her mom and brother. So, our family wasn't all together on those days. But now, that will change, and I'm so thankful. But one of my cousins doesn't come to Sunday night dinners or out with everyone when we go to dinner. She moved out of her house and has started a really bad lifestyle. I'm really scared for her sometimes. I pray for her every night too. She's my age and my aunts and uncles and people who know her and what she's doing tell me that I'm such a good kid and I'm perfect. I'm so far from that. I mean yes, I don't go out and drink every weekend like some of my friends. I go to church every Sunday morning and night. But I don't think that qualifies me as being "a good kid". I try and set a good example for my cousins, Ashlyn and Kristin. But I have my faults and I hope they don't see them. I'm hoping that they don't make any decisions that would be harmful to them in the future. I can already see that one of them may and I'm concerned. There's nothing that I can do except pray. Things are slowly beginning to come real to her. Like two Wednesdays ago at Firehouse, Nathan wanted everyone to think about every single bad thing they've ever done. That was a smack in the face for me as well and after my cousin came up to me and said she almost started to cry. I guess it's going to take small steps at a time. I don't really know what the whole point of this is, it's kind of random. But oh well I guess. So in conclusion, I'm so thankful for everything God has blessed me with. Relationships, my health, my family...no matter how crazy they are, and doors that He has opened for me (mainly college), even though I've never been so scared in my life. So until next time, peace out!