An Open Letter to my High School Friends

Dear SOTTDP,

As I prepare to finish my undergrad degree and say goodbye to the familiarity and predictability of the last four years, I've been thinking about you a lot. Can you believe it's been four years since we were all together last? It feels like an eternity ago that we were running around in the Arizona sun in our bikinis and tan legs taking ridiculous photos that now make me cringe, pool crashing, hot tubbing, and making milkshake and Taco Bell runs. But really, it's only been four short years since we were immersed in the special hell that is IB exams, EEs, IAs, and let's not forget ESS. 

Now we have all grown and changed so much, we wouldn't be able to go back to that time even if we wanted to. We have new lives, new adventures, new special little hells, and new squads. Even though we have spoken less and less as the years go by, know there is still a place in my heart for you. You all adopted me into the group at a really rough time in my life without any hesitation, and you will never know how much that meant to me. 

I LOVE and look forward to following your lives on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. I cheer for your triumphs and root for your success. I am excited to see where life takes you! I wouldn't trade our years of friendship for anything. After all, you can never really get rid of your hometown friends.

With love,

Kristen

A Prayer for a Tired Heart

I'm tired. 

I am so, so tired. I'm frustrated and I'm weary and I just want this life to be easy! 
I feel like a threenager that is way past due for her afternoon nap. 

I am having by far the most challenging couple weeks of my college career. I feel so discouraged and I need HELP. Like, so much help-I can't do it alone-praying every second kind of help. I realized last night that even though I've been praying and telling God I can't do this, I haven't really been letting Him help me. I'm asking for help, but I haven't let go of my worries and doubts and really, truly given them to God. 

So last night as I'm laying in bed over-analyzing life's difficulties, my heart was filled with this prayer. And I prayed it over and over. And then I typed it down in the notes section on my phone. And then I was instantly filled with peace. We've got this. Jesus and I together, we've got this. I can't do this alone. My new prayer isn't that I do well on my exams and pass. My prayer is that God grants me the grace to allow myself to give my worries to Him. This is the prayer of my tired heart. It's all I have right now, but it is enough for Him.

Dear Jesus,

I have nothing to give you right now. I'm so empty. My heart is a crazy, jumbled, chopped up bowl of fruit salad. All I have is my discouraged heart, a little sliver of hope, and You. Please give me the grace and the courage to give my heart to You. Take it and break it and make it new. Make it into something we can both be proud of. Let me trust in You. In YOUR name I pray.

Amen

Give me grace, give me courage, give me peace.


Kristen