Class...

Though I am very happy that I am getting to take my CNA class right now... I miss UWEC! I miss the English classes, and the giggling and having fun with friends down the hall, and the being free to do as I saw fit, and going to Bible-study with my Christian friends, and going to Jacob's Well church on Sundays, and going out to coffee with my grandmother on Wednesdays, and always being busy, or having some down-time as well, and the sense of community, etc...etc...etc...... It was so much fun. And so growing. And now I am back here, at home. Or rather, the home I grew up in.... I don't exactly fit the same way anymore. And I don't even want to consider that if I am still around after Brita goes to college... I will REALLY not fit... and feel lazy, and etc...etc...etc...

I think it's good for me to be here at home... because it makes me grow and learn in different ways... Especially patience. I am having to learn patience... though somewhat involuntarily. I don't want to wait around for an indefinite amount of time for my Daddy to tell me what he thinks of Eric. I don't want to have to wait, to have to have the time pass, for me to finish classes. I just want to have my credentials now, and be done... But I am waiting... I am learning patience... and it will continue, I suspect, until I have learned it.

On the brighter side, God has been moving a lot of things in my path to be there precisely right... I believe that the CNA program was what He had for me... I learned in class the other day, that this class generally has a waiting list, and it can be hard to get into at times... I decided to take the course some time in the end of July... and had no problems getting in. I am surprised that this is so, and all I can chalk it up to, is that I am following an acceptable path, and God is enabling me... I also learned that to get reciprocity for my CNA in another state, there's basically a form to fill out... and that's it. And my massage therapy program lets me become a nationally-registered massage therapist... so I won't have problems with that transferring....

I just finished reading "Boy Meets Girl" by Joshua Harris... I was surprised with it. I expected that the book would basically say "Don't go out on a "date" by yourselves"... and to completely submit to parental authority concerning relationships, and a whole lot of other stuff similar to that. But it doesn't. It says "Don't act in a way that isn't backed up by your level of commitment,"..."alone-time as a couple is important... but don't make ALL your time this way".... "Make your choices with counsel... but that doesn't mean you are to let your counsel make your decisions for you... YOU are the one that needs to have faith and be willing to marry another person... We are called to honor our parents- and that means listening to their counsel and considering it carefully... But since we are adults, we are not obligated to OBEY our parents in all things anymore... "... so... wow. It was different than expected... and it was refreshing. That the same guy who wrote "I kissed dating goodbye" is not saying that you cannot essentially "date" someone else... just not recreationally, or without serious intent. Courtship is another name, basically, for dating with a goal in mind- to determine whether or not a person is the one you will marry. It's not a rigid set of rules, but a mindset- and I found that really interesting to read, and made me go "wow... I can handle that..."... and made me realize that we haven't been doing anything really that different from Joshua Harris' book...
So it also helped me realize that I have been going about having my parents' approval in the wrong way... at least, I think so right now..... I desire their approval, but it is not so incredibly vital that it is impossible to proceed without it. I desire it, and I am giving them a chance to grant it... and I will listen to their advice concerning my relationship... but unless their concerns are valid and biblical ones... I do not have to follow the advice. It makes me relax and remember that there are still MY choices... not my parents... and though I love them, and desire to honor them, ultimately, it will not be their decision...
I hope my post doesn't worry or scare anyone who's been reading it... :-) but oh well if it does. So... bother me about it? You're welcome to, if you think it's necessary.

~Danette