BIRMINGHAM (sort of)

Indian giver: n. a person who gives a gift and then takes it back.

In case you were dying to know, our rotation regions were posted on Friday. I frantically checked online, saw that I was assigned to Birmingham (my #1 choice), immediately began high-fiving classmates, sent out mass text messages to my overly anxious friends, and then it happened. We received yet another email shortly after stating that rotation regions were, in fact, NOT final. There was a glitch in the system and some regions were posted while others weren't. Needless to say, I spent much of my weekend in hopes that this whopper of a golden gift, my #1 choice, would still be mine.

Tuesday followed through with the indian giving. HSOP randomly re-assigned our regions and yours truly got assigned TUSCALOOSA. To say that I have pouted the past few days would be an understatement. Pity parties won't even begin to describe. I'm just plain bummed out. My thought process is this: "how could they possibly give my spot to someone else?" as if I'm entitled to Birmingham and Birmingham alone. I've really got to get over myself. The blues are balanced to some extent by the assurance that I will have some (possibly most) of my rotations in Birmingham. We also have 2 weeks to swap regions with any classmate who is willing, so Tuscaloosa is technically not 100% final, but chances are looking mighty slim. Aside from that, I am super excited to become an official Birmingham resident in May! Commuting really can't be that bad..and thank goodness it's not forever.

Although its been a tough pill to swallow, God has been completely faithful to me. My prayers about this situation date waaaayyy back. I begged and pleaded for His guidance in my decision and then for His will to be done. I'd like to think this was just some terrible luck of the draw, but really it's just a culmination of the work of His hands.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? Job 12:9

Seaside Half Marathon??

Yes, I run on a daily basis, but I've never actually run farther than 3.5 miles during a single run EVER. I've considered that my tall, lanky body just might not be cut out to run 13.1 miles EVER. But, I've recently decided that nobody really is. So we train. And that's what I'm going to do, Lord willing. March 7, 2010. Seaside, FL. The race course is flat and who doesn't LOVE County Road 30-A? I'm in the process of recruiting some running pals. Takers?

http://www.seasidehalfmarathon.com/

Seaside, spring break sophomore year

AND...in case you were wondering, I finally made a #1 region decision. As Oswald Chambers puts it, "To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation...life is full of spontaneous, joyful uncertainty and expectancy." I am certain that God is sovereign in my decision. I'll be back as soon as I hear the results early next week!