Thanksgiving Topics

1. I am thankful for the cross. I am so thankful for Jesus, who chose to die on the cross for me. In Him I have new life. I’ve seen the transforming power of the gospel. I’ve seen it in my life and in the lives around me. 
2. I’m thankful for the Holy Spirit. He continues to guide me every day.  
3. I am so thankful for my family. I am thankful for my dad for working so hard to provide for our family. I have learned so much by observing him throughout my life. He is kind, compassionate, and so patient with me. He is a man of integrity. I am thankful for my mom, who continually prays for me at early morning prayer meetings and cooks for us. She sincerely loves those around her and continues to give to those around her. I’m so thankful that my parents choose to support me as I pursue medicine as well as the arts. I am thankful for my sister, Rebekah, who never fails to make me laugh. I’m thankful to have seen her grow in the Lord and in faith this past year through attending Grace Retreat and the missions trip over the summer. She brings so much joy to our family. 
4. I am thankful for the youth group leaders. It is such a privilege and honors to serve alongside Augustine, Sarah, and Caleb. To see them continually give their time, money, and energy to love the youth encourages me to continue to do the same.
5. I am thankful for my fellowship and our fellowship Friday Bible studies – esp. for Friday dinners! It’s one less thing I have to think about on Fridays. 
6. I am thankful for all the girls that I have met and gotten to get to know deeper this year – Jenny, Hannah Chow, Rachel, and Mary. It’s been so encouraging to meet up with each one of them and share what God has been doing in our lives. 
7. I am thankful for this past summer. It was challenging, but it was also sweet. I lead a small group for the first time at Grace Retreat, went on missions with the youth group, took the MCAT (though it did not go so well the first time). Through spending 2 weeks with the youth, I got to get to know each one of them– their quirks and personalities.
8. I am so thankful for the new photography opportunities I had this past semester. I was able to photograph more portraits and families in the fall. I really enjoyed it!
9. I am thankful for the beautiful fall season. I enjoyed watching all the leaves change color around the neighborhood and on campus. 
10. I am also thankful for this season in life. Looking back at the past 3 ½ years of undergrad, I don’t know how I got through each semester, but I am so thankful for how God has lead me through it all. It has certainly not been easy and the road to becoming a doctor is not an easy one, but I’ve seen God’s faithfulness over and over throughout my undergrad years. And I am confident that he will be faithful in the coming years.  
11. I am thankful for all the professors and friends that I met at the University of Maryland. 
12. I’m also thankful for all the resources I have at UMCP. I’m really going to miss going to the gym! Also access to creative cloud (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, etc.) has helped me grow as a creative the last few years. It’s almost two years since I started lettering and it’s been such a fun journey! 
13. I am thankful for the opportunity that I had to attend the Chasing Light Workshop over the summer. I learned so much from Ann and it’s been amazing to see the photographers that I met improve. 
14. I am thankful for my car that faithfully takes me to school every day.
15. I am thankful for my friends who continually encourage and pray for me through the difficult times this year. I have the best friends! 
16. I am thankful for the youth group media team. Though we have not met as often this year, I am proud of the ways each person has grown! 
17. This semester I am very thankful for Tuesdays. Tuesdays have been my favorite days (yes, more than the weekends!) because it’s my day “off”. I still have a lot of work to get done, but I can choose to do work wherever I want. Sometimes it’s a coffee shop. Sometimes it’s school. Sometimes it’s at home, but it’s still really nice to have flexibility. 
18. I’m thankful for Dr. John Lee for allowing me to shadow him a couple of times this semester. I always learn so much – things I could never learn from textbooks. 
19. I am thankful for the random jobs that I have had throughout my undergrad years. I have been leading Guided Study Sessions for the last 5 semesters (4 semesters for genetics). I’ve learned to facilitate discussions and to create a learning environment. When I look back, I’ve learned so much from leading GSS the last 5 semesters. I’ve grown in confidence. I’ve met some really cool people from various backgrounds. Some of them have even gone and become GSS leaders themselves! I became more comfortable speaking in front of a group of people – something I would have never imagined I would choose to do in high school. 
20. I am thankful that God is the best teacher. He never expects me to leap from step 1 to step 10. He takes me step by step in life. Sometimes this requires me to be more patient and wait for his timing, but He knows me the best!

Embracing this Season

A few days ago I asked God - "God, what are you teaching me right now?" And I felt like his response was to embrace this season. And so, I am learning to "fall" in love with this season in life (pun intended, hehe) - the beautiful view, the leaves that are changing colors, the quality time I get to spend at coffee shops with my friends, the classmates I get to meet and get to know, studying, etc. I want to look back at this part of my life and say "I lived this season well." Because no matter what I see in front of me, I know God is orchestrating all the details of my life and all I need to do is fully trust Him. I don't want the hardships to mark this season in my life. When I look back at this season, I want to share the breakthroughs that I experienced that reveal God's character - His goodness, kindness, love, etc.

Recently Chip and Joanna Gaines released their new book "The Magnolia Story". The book begins from how they initially met, to how they landed the "Fixer Upper" on HGTV, and to how God lead them to where they are now.  I love their story. I love the beautiful work that they do. I love their authenticity, integrity, and how they interact with each other.  But what I love the most about their story (and book) is how they continually point others to God. Despite their fame and new platform, they are not afraid to declare God's goodness in their life. There are testimonies after testimonies of breakthroughs they experienced in their journey sprinkled throughout the book.

After I finished reading the book yesterday, one particular part near the end of the book really stuck out to me. Here's the excerpt (sorry for the spoiler!):

“It was in the middle of all that struggle I found my true inspiration as a designer - the very thing that so many people seem to be drawn to now that I’ve received this opportunity to share my work with the world. 

I always thought that the ‘thriving’ would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it’s actually down in the mess that things get good. 

It was such a blessing to find myself thriving in the middle of the pain. Unless you find a way to do that, there’s always going to be this fake illusion that once you get there - wherever ‘there’ is for you — you’ll be happy. But that’s just not life. If you can’t find happiness in the ugliness, you’re not going to find it in the beauty, either.” (Joanna Gaines)

I hope it still makes some sense without all the background information about their lives! But the part that stood out to me was - "I always thought that the ‘thriving’ would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it’s actually down in the mess that things get good." They experienced some crazy financial situations where they could have probably gone bankrupt, but in the midst of it, were able to hope. And then they experienced one of the greatest breakthroughs in their career soon after. In the same way, I want to learn how to thrive in the pain as well in the blessings.

I've been thinking about what really matters in life. Yes, school is important and work is important. But I realized that at the end of the day and at the end of my life, people matter. Relationships matter. People's souls matter. At the end of my life, the question that will matter the most is - did I love well? I'm learning that it's one thing to know and it's another thing to experience. It's one thing to know that we must love one another. It's another thing to go do it. Jesus would go out of his way to meet just one person - to offer them hope, to offer them eternal life. Lately it's been busy and hard and so it's been tempting to shy away from responsibilities. But God has been reminding me that He can still use me in my weakness and in what I feel like are my inadequacies. And He will use me. Right now it feels like my response to Jesus is similar to Peter's in Luke 5:5 - "because you say so, I will let down the nets." Because Jesus says so, I will be diligent and finish my undergrad years strong.