home at liberty

dear madre wanted me to comment on how God has answered my prayers of making the transition into my new liberty life.

my roommate (girl 1) is still about the same. we see each other a bit in the evenings before bed but not much else. we're both very in and out. but we get along great and she's very easy to live with so i can't complain. as for my other housemates, one girl (girl 2) moved back home almost 2 weeks ago because she got mono. i rarely see her roommate (girl 3). i see the other two girls more often. i get along really well with one of them (girl 4), but the other (girl 5)...we'll just say she's my grace grower this semester ;)
with the loss of girl 2, we are down to 5 in the appartment (including myself - girl 6). i've met a few other girls in my building through tuesday night prayer groups, but i only see them once a week for a short time.

i've definitely made some friends in the worship program. one class project was to group up and lead a mini-set and i met some people in my group. i eat lunch with two of them (a guy and a girl) every tues/thurs and we always have really good conversation. there are others that i'm getting to know slowly but surely throughout my various classes. two girls from the worship program went to church with me last sunday.

my dad recently asked me if i feel at home at liberty. i wasn't really sure how to answer. i think i definitely feel at home in the worship program. 9 of my 10 classes meet in the worship building so that is pretty much all i see. because my days are so long with classes i tend to socialize more during the week in the evenings and become a homework hermit on weekends. that added to my unique 4-semester-plan situation makes me not really fit the mold as a typical liberty student - if that even makes sense.

i don't think i've fully accepted that this is my home now and michigan is not. i'm not even sure i believe that to be true. right now there is a big (and i mean BIG) push on campus to get students registered to vote. the thing is, they want you to register in virginia - not your home state. they've made it clear that doing so will not affect taxes, driver's lisence, car registration, residence, etc. and they really want us to register in virginia so we can vote on the local level here.
i am not registering to vote in virginia. i registered for my absentee ballot in michigan and will be voting that way. i guess i have this mentality that michigan is my home and that is where i care about the politics on a local level. virginia to me is temporary (at least right now) and i don't really care about or have any knowledge to become involved in local politics here.
should i care? should i view virginia as my home? that i'm not sure. i do know that i have not become emotionally attached to this place in any way. do i have a wall around my heart? probably. am i okay with that? for now...i think so. is that right? not sure.

all that being said, i am settling into a sense of normal here. i still miss home a lot and the feeling of belonging i had there (i.e. i haven't had a real hug from anyone since my dad left). but God is most certainly blessing me here. i am learning so much about things i love and how to apply them to my life. God is constantly teaching me new things. and i am forming relationships with people...slowly but surely. He's on my side. and i know that at night when I wrap my arms around my throw pillow He's wrapping His arms around me and holding me as i fall asleep.

He is my constant.
He is my everything.
He is my home.