Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Day 2

Today was rough.  Today was really rough.  It was reeled with beginning of the semester stresses, worries, and tears.  The reality of being back in school really just struck me today.  It's not that my classes are going to be rough, but lets be honest, college can be stressful.  Also, I had a work meeting to attend today.  I had already been considering quitting, but than I started doing some calculations in my head.  For those of you who don't know, I work as a photographer for a sports photography company.  Which means I only work evenings and Saturdays.  Between having back to back classes, commuting back and forth, and working, I found I'd only have about an hour of studying a day.  Now, I don't know about you, but when your taking 16 credit hours, an hour a day isn't going to cut it. So I had myself I was going to have to quit at the meeting tonight.  I didn't know what to do. I enjoy the job part of my job a lot,I need the money, but I need to pass my classes.  So I did what I do best and I cried, and cried, and cried. Then, I went to work.  I quickly found out that it is going to be a season like I imagined. Working right up until the sun is no longer visible, and the bugs are in full chirp.  I started to have a small freak out, and chewed on my pen.  I finally found the guts deep in my pour shy soul to approach my boss. (After I talked to his wife, ha) I said, "So I have a problem...I am taking 16 credit hours this semester, and I figured it out that between actual class time, commute, and work, I'm only left with an hour to study. Which isn't doable. So I am wondering if I could just work Fridays and Saturdays."  My boss (almost surprisingly) willingly agreed and said that was fine.  I sighed a breath of relief and walked out the door, and drove home, into the summer storm.  I got home, told my parents my decision, and did some homework. 
 Then I took a break to go outside in the storm. I tend to learn well through analogies, and took the opportunity to find a lesson here. 
Before I actually headed outside my mom told me to look out the back window, and there against the mountains, in the middle of a cloud, right in the middle of the storm, was a rainbow.  Which if I'm not mistaken is not something you see often.  Rainbows usually appear after a storm, when the clouds begin to clear.  So here I am, standing outside, in the downpour.  It was freezing, obviously wet, and dark out.  But my mind was in that rainbow.  We all have storms in our lives that we have to wait out, or dance through. Whether it be an illness, school, relationships, personal struggles/addictions, each and everyone of us have our own personal storms.  But we are pretty lucky that we have been promised help to get through the storms, and the assurance that these storms are not going to last forever.  A rainbow at the end of a storm gives hope that the sun will soon shine.  Just as a good day in the middle of our "storms" give us the hope that things will turn out alright.  This rainbow that showed up in the middle of the storm clouds tonight was a reminder to me that even though the storm seems to be raging a lot longer than I feel it should be, we need to look for those blessings each day that provide us with hope.  If your waiting out your current storm to end, try dancing through it instead. Not only is it more fun, but when you stop dwelling on the problems, you'll see the blessings.

2 comments:

  1. Jana there is so much hope. And you have so much potential. I sort of wish you would have texted me yesterday and let me know you were having a bad day. I was delivering flowers and jamba's to those who weren't having the best of a month. On the other hand, that offer is still valid. Text me, beautiful.

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  2. You are going to do great this semester Jana. I'm so glad your boss was willing to work with you and you can still work part time. I love your rainbow analogy. It is so true. Even through trials, you can trust the Lord will give you a rainbow at the end, even if it is only a small rainbow(I know from experience). Love you girl!!

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