an unexpected way to start the year

Hey everyone!! After a long winter break I am finally back at Baylor University. This week God has tested me. I don't say this lightly either. This week really has been the toughest week of my life and I am still trying to process everything that has happened. On Wednesday I began formal sorority recruitment and it was a whirlwind. I thought I knew exactly where I was supposed to end up, and that did not end up happening. I was so sure of myself and I was so sure that I knew the plans that God had for me. When really, I had absolutely no idea where God was going to take me and where I was supposed to go. None of us ever do. It is so easy to say that the plans He has for me are so much greater than what I ever could have imagined for myself, but it is even harder to really understand what that means. I know God has a plan and I know that plan is going to be so so great, and all I can do is trust in that and give everything I have to God because it truly is the only thing that I can always count on. Even though this week did not go the way that I had planned, I know that God is going to use me in so many incredible ways this semester and I pray that he uses me to love, encourage, and provide. I have made my word this year " Abide." I am going to abide in the plan that God has for me and I am going to strive towards that. One of the most powerful illustrations in the Bible is the vine and the branches, and in John 15 Jesus says this, " I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." Wow. This verse means so much more to me today than it ever has before. We abide in God and he abides in us. If we do not abide in him, then there will be no fruit. Abide also means to continue. To abide in Jesus is to remain in Jesus, and when we do this, we will never stop believing in Him. Even though these past few days have been so extremely hard, I am going to continue abiding in Him and believing in his plan. I know God put me in the exact place that I needed to be, and I am so excited to see all of the amazing ways he is going to use me this semester. Be on the lookout for more blog posts, I've got a ton coming!!

XOXO,

Alyssa