The weekly // 12

I loved this week. Really loved it. 

The Lord just gave me gift after gift and ended the week with a perfect weekend. 

So take that as a warning that this post could be a little lengthier than normal...

The coolest thing that happened during the week was that my small group and I did on campus evangelism in one of the freshman dorms. In the spirit of keeping it real, I did NOT want to go. But I knew we should, so we did. I got to go around and knock on doors with one of the girls that is going to India with me, which was cool. We were hitting some walls and I was still dragging my feet. 

Then we got to this one room. When we asked the girl, Summer, how we could pray for her, she just said she's stressed with school and had a lot to do. I immediately thought, "this girl doesn't have time to hear what we have to say." But as we continued to talk with her, she told us that she didn't really know what she believed, and also knew almost nothing about Christianity or the gospel. 

So, after asking her a good number of questions, I finally asked if I could tell her the gospel. By this time, a friend of hers had also come into the room. I got to tell both of them about a holy God and a sinful people. A God that must punish the sins of His creation but also loves them and wishes them to be brought back to Himself. I got to tell them about how God became flesh, came to this world, lived the perfect life we never could, died the death we deserve, and then 3 days later rose again, defeating sin and death so that we might be free to be with Him and worship Him for all of our days. 

After finishing, both the girl from Boston and the girl from Murrlles Inlet, SC looked at me and said, "I have never heard that before."

I was blown away. And so humbled. And thrilled. 

I did not deserve the sweet gift of getting to share with those girls. And after leaving them I had a real sense of this is what I'm created to do. Not because evangelism is my gifting, because that is certainly not the case. I was created to do this work because I am a Christian. 

So I'll take this moment to beg: please pray for these girls, Summer and Natalie. Pray that God would save them, and that if He wants, He would use me to draw them closer to Himself. 

Friday Mackenzie and I went on a mini hike. It was really fun to get outdoors, even though we both slipped and busted our tailbones while trying to explore a little. I guess that's what we get for going off the beaten path. 

After going to the Botanical Gardens to help Jake plan out his proposal (!!!) we played tennis and frisbee with some friends. 

Saturday night was a big one. Bollywood and an engagement party!

Bollywood was fun, and I was very thankful to finally have this secret off my chest!

I'm so pumped for Jake and Kathleen. It becomes increasingly weird every time close friends get engaged, because most of the time I still feel like I'm 16 years old. But it's also really exciting!

And then the next day was Easter. This is probably one of my favorite holidays because of how pivotal and life changing the truth of the resurrection is. It is God's "Amen" to Christ's "it is finished." It is freedom for those who believe. If it didn't happen, we as Christians would be the most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). Praise God that Jesus is alive! 

This Easter was a particularly awesome one. 

After church, I got to celebrate Holi Festival of Colors with friends in the parking lot of UP (an apartment complex in Clemson). It was SO. FUN. I couldn't pick just one or two pictures I liked from the event, so here's a pretty good idea of what it consisted of. 

After Holi, we attempted to get all the color off and then got lunch ready. Kim, Mackenzie, and I cooked Easter lunch for about 20-30 internationals. It was a pretty big task, especially since I barely cook. I was a little nervous about the stomachs of my friends, but, praise the Lord, they loved it! 

It was such a sweet time of hanging out and sharing a meal together! 

Once everyone left and the dishes were cleaned, Mackenzie and I crashed. We sat on the couch and reflected on the weekend. We talked about how awesome it was and how thankful we are to live in a place with such a large population of internationals. The exhaustion was totally worth it! 

I really love these people! 

The weekly // 11

This week was my spring break…and I spent it at home. The plans I made fell through, but I was thankful for the restful, and simultaneously productive, week. 

It was a good week with my family…and a hard week with my family. 

But I'm thankful for the Lord's work in all of our lives, and the way He gives us grace to be humble, admit sin, apologize, and forgive each other. I'm definitely blessed to be a Priddy. 

The reason the week felt so productive was that I got to shadow an OT! The OT I shadowed works in-home and only with children in the age range of infant-3 years old. So basically my dream job. 

I LOVED IT. 

It was great affirmation and good motivation to continue on in this dreary semester (and school in general). 

Here are a few snaps from activities while home

Also, before I left, I got to fly this plane!! It was quite the experience. 

Sunday I went to my first baseball game of the season against Boston College, and by winning that game, Clemson swept BC for the series…Go Tigers!

The weekly // 10

This was the last week before Spring Break, and it was a final push to be sure. The highlight of the week was definitely that I got to eat homemade Indian food for dinner…twice! I love the hospitality of my international friends. My selfish heart can learn a lot of lessons from them. 

Sadly, one of those dinners was under bitter circumstances, for Clemson lost one of it's greatest: Shehzad the selfie king! 

I will definitely miss running into this guy on campus, hence the sad face below.

I had plans to go back to DC for Spring Break and was super excited about it, but not enough people signed up and consequently the trip fell through. So at the last minute I hopped in the car with my mom and Hailey and we road tripped to Kentucky to see a dear friend get hitched! 

Totally worth it. 

On the way back we took a pit stop (or seven) to walk around Nashville, TN for a bit. 

It is such a cool city! 

A few hours out from the house, my mom pointed out a small piece of rainbow visible in the sky. As we kept going shouts of "look! look! It's double!" turned into "look you can see it on the other side too!" and eventually we could see both rainbows all the way across the sky. 

The picture obviously does not do the view justice. 

Ever since I've grown up I've been told that rainbows symbolize that God is a promise-keeper, for it's the sign He gave Noah that He would never flood the earth again, and He hasn't. 

I am thankful for the Lord's grace in helping a Bible-story that my head knows to be transformed into a truth that my heart believes and loves: my God is faithful. He is constant. He will never leave me nor forsake me, and what He says is trustworthy and true. 

And I'm thankful that God uses His creation to remind me of such truths. 

The weekly // 9

First and last basketball game of the season in The Well, with the small group // ASL social // asian buffet for $5.99 with Stella // Fike night with Crosspoint including volleyball, basketball, and spikeball // delicious homemade Indian food, courtesy of Komal // volleyball at y-beach // small group sleepover with a surprise FaceTime from sweet Marie. 

I had a breakdown this week. A bad one. It was one of those days where a lot of little things add up and before you know it a straw (or a brick) lands and breaks the camel's back. I was so frustrated with people. And felt so lonely. I'm in a season where the people who know my heart aren't present, whether geographically or just because, well, life. It happens, ya know?

But in the midst of it the Lord was gracious to help me see and remember His goodness. It wasn't easy for this prideful heart who likes to sit in self-pity, but His graces were so evident. 

Here are some pictures of grace, largely in the form of people. 

The biggest grace, however, is that of the Lord Himself. That I am His, and He is mine. 

Oh, how sweet it is to be loved by Him. 

I love you, O LORD, my strength. 

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, 

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, 

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 

I call upon the LORD, Who is worthy to be praised, 

and I am saved from my enemies. 

Psalm 18:1-3