People

This weekend has been all about spending time with people. This is something I sorely missed last semester - it's not that last semester I didn't see people or didn't enjoy spending time with them, but it always felt so rushed. If it wasn't a pre-set meeting, I didn't have time for it, really. I would've loved to spend more time getting to know all the small group leaders and helpers, and I feel like I made significant progress in doing so, but it still always felt rushed. Meaningful relationships cannot be rushed, I've learned. It comes with constant communication and learning to listen to one another and experiencing life together. You can rush life along, but it loses the meaningful-ness (is that a word? haha) and depth of the relationship.

Jerry and I went out to brunch on Saturday morning, after spending the previous night at Harvest and before that, walking around campus enjoying the sun. It's weird - we used to do that every time it was sunny out (my freshman and sophomore year) but as we got older... those times stopped as well. Sounds so sad, but it's true. I couldn't remember the last time we had walked around campus together - maybe it was back in May of last year. It was fun just putting work and everything else aside and spending time together outside of studying and just lounging at home. It really did nurture our relationship on the emotional level and we were able to share a lot about how we were doing recently (on a deeper level, I mean). :)

Saturday was Tiff's birthday dinner as well, and it was fun seeing people from AIV outside of th AIV contexts. Although, it was really loud and I couldn't really hear what people were talking about (that happens when you have a long table of people!) but it was still really fun regardless. Sunday was Easter Sunday, and after the Knox service (which was wonderful, by the way!) Jerry, me, Michelle, Jack, Betsy, Kaibon, and my sister went to Olive Garden for lunch. Again, it was fun to see people I don't usually get to hang out with regularly! Lots of fun.

Last night, the senior class (okay, like 1/3 of our class) had a good time of sharing and prayer for each other. Our class is really special and I love them, but I don't think we've ever prayed for each other like we did last night. It was wonderful to get to know everyone a bit more, on a deeper level, and spend time in prayer for one another. I'm glad people shared what they were struggling with and it was a blessing to hear verses being read out by each other. It really touched me. I love our class, and I will miss every single person when they leave. Luckily, a lot of them are staying around, so that makes me happy. :D

Invest in people!! Those are the times you will remember from college. Yes, you might remember stuff from class... but people matter the most in the long run, I've learned. :) Enjoy the time you have left with the people around you!