Closing up the Year

    Heading to a meeting for school, I had to fill up on some gas.  All I noticed was that it was cold outside really.  I wasn't looking forward to spending my Friday evening at school.  I decided to bring my camera along with me that evening just in case there was a good moment to catch.  As I was filling up, I looked behind me and saw this beautiful scene right in front of me.  I took out  my little point-and-shoot and caught the moment.

    So, now I'm in the midst of my finals.  I've got two more left to finish.  The semester has flown.  I've had such an incredible learning experience this semester.  I feel like the Lord has opened my mind as I have studied and allowed me to understand the things I'm studying more fully and take them more seriously.  I also feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to educate myself and to understand a bit of the world more completely.  I guess, instead of feeling weighed down by the pressures of the closing semester, I can look around and see the reason for it all...

I hope that as I  finish up the year that maybe I can not just run through the motions of it all, but take a step back and look at the view, express my gratitude for all the Lord has blessed me with.  I think that each day the Lord tries to remind me in some way of all of the blessings that I've been given, even when I can't readily seem them.  Viewing this sunset when I wasn't even looking for it was one of those experiences.  It was marvelous to just sit back for a couple of minutes and soak in the beauty.  It wasn't just another sunset to me. It was a unique moment--a gift--from God; and expression of his love for me... and a reminder to not forget about how much he has blessed me with (even those stressful things in life).