advent

So Facebook has fallen into [my] disfavor once again.

Thinking in sentences can be all well and good, but once in a while a paragraph is helpful. So maybe, I thought, instead of gracing cyberspace with messages like

Emily is wondering why she only gets invitations to graduate programs in Engineering.

or

Emily now has a confirmed case of schizophrenia.

[which, come to think of it, may be related, depending on which of my personalities took the GRE; then again, if it was the engineering part, it would've done better in math...]

I will actually try to hammer out something more substantial. It would be a pity to leave this year without a few good bouts of reflection. It's been an eventful year.

The day God created the sun, moon and stars to mark signs and seasons has always been a big one for me, because I think it confirms that He built us to appreciate and thrive on the repetition of the "ever circling years," and to use the seasons' changes as landmarks in our lives.

The ending of a year is a big landmark, and I have been mulling all that happened in 2009.

There are some things I am especially thankful for:

• Lorena. To have a classmate become a friend and a fellow pursuer of Christ is an amazing gift. And I love having somebody to call when I'm overwhelmed with nostalgia for Phonology with Dr. Prado.
• God's sustenance in the church music program. It's not about us; it's about Him, and He'll take care of the details if we trust Him. Not only that, but what He works out in the end is always better than the plans we drew up ourselves.
• The opportunity to spend time in Jerusalem. This didn't sink in until Advent. When my thoughts get ironed out I hope to write them.
  
• My family's love and forgiveness. Having a houseful of people who love you at your most unpleasant is a good thing. Always having a coffee date on hand isn't bad, either.
  
• The doctrine of the incarnation. My summer in a Middle Eastern Islamic country drove home the miracle and wonder of the incarnation in so many ways that I am still reeling. We have a God who came to earth. God came and lived on the earth.