Thankful for Parent's Weekend

                               

Yay for game day round 2 with these lovely ladies.  

  For those of you who don't know, the girl on the far left is Amelia, and she is my roommate. The young lady next to her is Ellen, from Ohio. I met her at an ice cream social that Crosspoint hosted during first week. Thankful that the Lord brought us together there because she loves the Lord so much and, in turn, I love her so very much as well. If you happened to stumble upon this, the girl next to Ellen is me, and then next to me, the girl on the far right is Katherine, and she lives on my hall. She is one of the funniest people I have ever met, and I'm thankful for the countless laughs she's already provided me, as well as for the ones that are sure to come.

 It was a good day in Death Valley, for we creamed S.C. State 52-13. As expected, the game was subpar to the standard set by the week before, but seeing the family this weekend made it all a-okay!

I am so SO thankful for my family. Words really can't even describe it. Although my brother still isn't too keen on Clemson University, my parents wore their orange and purple proudly. When questioned by my brother on his loyalty, my father responds with what's becoming a favorite phrase of mine: "It's not that I'm a Clemson fan, just a Catilyn fan." This melts my heart. (One day he'll be a whopping fan of both!)

I just want to take this opportunity to brag on my parents. They love me so much. It's really ridiculous. They have sacrificed so much of themselves for me for almost 19 years. They are tangible grace; they are a picture of self-sacrifice. They have shown me and taught me the love, grace, and truth that is found in Christ Jesus. I don't know why God chose me to be blessed with them but I am SO THANKFUL. To say it was good to see them this weekend is probably an understatement. 

Ok, thank you for reading my rant. Along with my parents, the Lord has put some other really awesome people in my life, and I got totally surprised by their appearance in Clemson this weekend. 

For one, Robert Harwell, sporting a Clemson shirt. Whaddya know?!

And then there's these guys. Man oh man how thankful I am for those smiling faces and the hearts behind them. These two have poured into my life in incredible ways, and I look forward to the ways the Lord will use them in my life in the future. Again, the thankfulness in my heart is overflowing. In addition to all of the wonderful spiritual things these two have taught me, Clemson grad Matthew Cavin also taught me Tiger Rag at a Rally in the Valley game a few years ago, and now, in his words, "I'm a professional student!"

 On Sunday, my wonderful parents took us out to lunch before heading home, and it was like old times.  This picture pretty much sums it up:

While college is awesome, and I'm not really itching to go home any time soon, it was good to have a taste of home here. I loved getting to share my new life with my family. It's weird that they don't know everything that's going on, and it's also weird that all of my relationships are changing in this new state of life, but glory be to the Lord Almighty who is constant through it all.