Reflecting

I can hardly believe it is the end of my first semester at Bryan College. The time has flown by, and I enjoyed every moment of it. As I think back on all that has happened this semester, I am overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. I have been stretched and grown more during this semester than at any other time in my life. God has been so faithful along every step of the way, and my heart is filled to overflowing when I think of all He has done in a few short months.

Coming to Bryan, I had expectations - everyone does. I expected to enjoy it. I expected to learn new things. I expected to make new friends. May I just say, in total honesty, that Bryan College completely blew my expectations out of the water. Not only did I make new friends - I found myself a part of a community like nothing I have ever experienced. Not only did I learn new things - my knowledge has deepened and exploded. Not only did I enjoy it - I have deeply cherished every single moment.

What I didn't expect, but found as a pleasant surprise, was the amount of growth I would undergo. Being "out on your own" and independent for the first time brings with it a host of challenges and joys, but it also brings a special opportunity - to "own" your faith. This was not a foreign concept to me, this whole idea of your faith being your own, but I had never experienced it myself. When you suddenly find yourself out of your comfort zone, away from family, friends, and the familiar, and making your own decisions, your faith becomes real to you in a new and powerful way. And you have a decision to make - will you step out in faith and hold fast to the things you know to be true? Will you surrender your newfound independence to the Lord and allow Him to shape and mold your life? Will you trust Him that He has a plan for you?

Perhaps the thing I learned more than any other this semester was to trust God. Through thick and thin, ups and downs, smiles and tears, good days and bad, this was the theme I felt God strongly impress upon my heart. Over and over again, in a multiplicity of situations, He asked me the simple question, "Hollen, do you trust Me?" Later in the semester it morphed into, "Hollen, will You trust Me?" The verses that stuck with me throughout the semester were Psalm 31:14-15a. They say, "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in Your hand [. . .]" (NASB). This became the theme of my semester and something I had to be reminded of daily. But, as time went on, not only did I learn how deeply I needed to trust the Lord, I learned how trustworthy He is.

He is working in every single circumstance, no matter how messy or confusing it may seem. And, indeed, He always works for our good. As Psalm 31:19 says, "How great is Your goodness,
which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men!" (NASB). He was so very good to me this semester. It was in a myriad of little things that all added up to produce an overflowing cup of blessing. It was the professor who took time to teach me things that mattered, encourage me, push me towards excellence, and give newfound purpose to my writing. And who, at the end of the semester, simply wrote, "I love you, dear heart" at the bottom of my final. It was the stunning beauty of the Tennessee scenery, even with all its clouds and rain (and, in some ways, even because of this!). It was the painful moments and times of loneliness. It was the friends who provided sweet fellowship and much laughter. It was another professor who went out of his way to encourage and compliment me, taking the time to invest in me and pull out potential he saw. It was a million other little things that made up each day, that made up each week, that made up the semester.

And my heart can only repeat what my Poppy always says, "God is good - all the time! All the time - God is good! Because that's His nature!" I can hardly wait to see how He is going to use subsequent semesters at Bryan in my life - what a precious thing it is to be right where He wants you.

Declare

A while ago, I started a blog with a similar title and template, but I was terrible about posting on it. I have recently been learning and growing as I seek to hone my writing, and I thought I'd give blogging another go. It just so happened that I couldn't seem to find my old blog - hence the new one!

But, really, a fresh start is good. Fitting, even. I've learned so much in the past few months about myself and my Savior that beginning anew seems right. Recently, a precious friend and fellow believer of mine gave me a gift. She enjoys painting, and her gift to me was a little sign. It had one, simple word painted across it - declare. This sweet friend told me that she felt the Lord had laid it on her heart that I was to be declaring - to stand firm in my faith and declare to others what I know to be true. I had been contemplating starting up my blog again, and this seemed to be the Lord's way of gently nudging me to use my love of writing to declare truth.

I'm not 100% sure what that will look like, but that's ok. Sometimes it will look like sharing what the Lord is doing in my life, other times it might look like posting about what I've been doing lately. Still other times it might look like addressing a current event or issue, or it might look like sharing some of my creative writing (when I have some to share!). Whatever the specifics might look like, I desire the underlying theme to always be that of glorifying God and declaring His truth.

I encourage you to consider how the Lord might have you declare in your life. What specific platforms or opportunities has He provided you with in which you can declare? He has given us all unique talents and abilities which means the ways we declare will be unique, too.

Finally, my blog title. The Road Less Traveled. Some of you will recognize it as a shameless reference to Robert Frost's poem entitled "The Road Not Taken." Regardless of other ways to interpret the text of this poem (which, characteristic to the beauty of literature, are many), one way I feel it can be interpreted involves the journey of a person in this life. We are all confronted with two roads we could travel - the world's and God's. The Bible tells us that the path of the believer is along the narrow path that few choose to walk - quite literally, "the road less traveled" (see Matthew 7:13-14). I have long loved this poem by Frost, particularly that last line. Frost says that taking the road less traveled "has made all the difference." And so it is, as a pilgrim of "the road less traveled" who knows that choosing this path certainly "made all the difference" in my life, that I chose to title my blog as I did. I'll leave you for now with Frost's timeless words to ponder...

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.