Stingers up! Round two.

This girl was accepted to Sac State's graduate program for Speech Pathology.

And I couldn't be more happy.

I found out last Friday when we were in Wisconsin for Ian and Aly's wedding.

I was in the hotel's hallway on my way to my dad's room when I checked my email. This is a little taste of how excited I was!

Stinger's up! (It'a a hornet thing...)

Do not be fooled. This has been a process that has absolutely tested my faith and I have really had to work on casting all my anxieties on the Lord.

In March, I was having a total identity crisis. I wasn't sure if I was even passionate about speech pathology anymore. Senioritis had taken over and I just didn't want to be in school anymore. I was really questioning why I wanted to even go to graduate school if I wasn't convinced that I wanted to be a speech pathologist.

I had just submitted my final application a couple weeks before and then I had no clue what I was doing.

Here's a blog post that I started and never finished...and obviously never published from that week:

Have you ever felt like you were so sure of something and then all of a sudden, you were tossed to the wind...more like a tornado...and you're just praying that you land on your feet? My plan has always been to go to graduate school for Speech Pathology. All of my applications are in, I've even had an interview...and now here I am...doubting. Is this really what I'm passionate about? Is this how I want

and I stopped right there. Couldn't even get my thoughts down about it.

Interning with Cru sounded really enticing. I could continue doing what I was doing at Sac State without having to go to class or taking finals. How sweet?! Regardless of how much I wanted that, something just never felt quite right.

I prayed a lot. I asked God to either reignite my passion for speech path or to make it obvious what he wanted me to do. I started to read the book of Joshua. I had never read it before and was challenged by Joshua's faith to step into the Jordan River. 

We had our Executive and Entrepreneurship Forum for Cru that week. Executive and entrepreneurs came to share with students their stories of successes and failures in life, business, and faith.

At the dinner, one of the speakers talked about when he knew that God wanted him to take a step of faith and start up his own business. He read Joshua.

What. The. Heck. I totally felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I needed to step out in faith and trust that God has great plans for me in grad school. My heart for the military and desire to help veterans with traumatic brain injuries stirred up again inside of me. I started to enjoy going to clinic and my prayer was answered. I was confident that I was going to go to grad school.

Then, the rejections started to come. I was waitlisted and rejected. Rejected and waitlisted.

This was hard for me. I've never really been rejected before. Sac State was the last school to send out notifications...weeks after I heard back from other universities. 

Then, my acceptance finally came.

It could really be a blow to one's ego when you aren't getting into schools that you thought for sure you had in the bag. However, I prayed so many times that God would make it clear where he wanted me in the fall. And although it was answered in a way that I wasn't expecting...that prayer was answered.

And like I said, I couldn't be more happy.

Who knows where my path will lead after this fall, after graduate school, or later in life...but I am excited to continue serving the Lord and being sensitive to His will for my life.

God answers prayers. It may not always be how we expect, but He does. Anxiety, fear, and confusion do not come from God. His perfect love casts out fear. He gives us a spirit of courage. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power of love and self-discipline. [2 Timothy 1:7]

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. [Joshua 1:9]