All of the Things

Less than two more days before Christmas break comes to a close. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t excited to go back to Northwestern. Break has been lovely—perhaps the most restful one I have experienced—but I miss my roommate, wingmates, and close friends at school quite a bit.

It’s been an interesting almost-month at home; I had no idea that the game of Nertz could be played so many times in a day. I have watched more than 15 movies and several episodes of a BBC series that I love. I have taken in far more episodes of MeTV shows than I ever wanted to see. I learned to crochet in less than three days and finished a large project as a present for a friend at school. Yes, Justine did something domestic. You may all pick your jaws off the floor now. That has been the extent of it.

The annual Johnson Christmas gathering proved to be as chaotic as usual—34 people total, 5 of whom were close to toddler age. We played musical beds, chairs, and tables, and that made the experience more fun and unique. Not that we needed it to be unique, since we hold our festivities in our heated garage. We went through numerous buckets of ice cream, many jugs of milk, and more containers of lemonade than what is healthy for 14 kids to drink. Daddy made semi-regular trips up to Grandpa’s with a tank of water for the well—thank God for my father and his hard work. Some of us went to see Frozen on New Year’s Eve, and fewer of that number stayed up till at least 4 a.m. playing Headbandz, drinking pop, eating cold leftover Pizza Hut pizza from earlier that night, laughing hysterically, and watching Despicable Me 2.

And so with all of those lovely things still lingering fondly on my mind, I am beginning to prepare for a chilly departure on Monday morning. What does this semester look like? It holds loads of potential, I’ll guarantee that right away. I will be starting my work study (dream) job as the editor of campus news videos as soon as I get back, which excites me beyond words. I’ll be working with Michael and some awesome friends each week to produce two videos before Monday morning.

I’m taking two journalism classes and a sound design class, but I’m only taking one writing class this semester. I’m a bit wary of this tactic, but this is where God has directed me so far and I need to trust Him in that. I’m pumped to take Sound Design and learn more about one of my favorite aspects of filmmaking.

To be honest, though, I am most looking forward to building closer relationships with people this semester. Having Michael with me has been such a blessing and I have enjoyed watching him become more and more like Daddy every day. I thought he was my best friend before, but going to school with him has improved our friendship by leaps and bounds. I also love my roomie and my wing, and I am blessed to have women living with me who truly care about me as a person. The relationships that I am going back to in Steg and on campus in general are helping me to heal. That is a beautiful thing. God is truly so good.

God loves me, and God’s love is enough.