A Thankful Thought

When I was in high school I did not enjoy school. As most high school students, I thought school was kind of useless in some areas. (For me, math and science especially) Since the 8th grade I knew where I wanted to attend college and I knew I did not need these subjects for my time there, but simply needed them to graduate high school. Let's just say that in high school- school was not my thing.

Over the past week or so I have been dwelling on my thankfulness for education. When I was in Cambodia I learned about the chances of people getting an education in their lives. When the Khmer Rouge was in power, they wiped out 20% of the population of Cambodia... Starting with anyone who was educated. It's true, they targeted educated people. Now, 30 years later, the country is in shambles. A generation of uneducated people is in power now. Not to say it isn't getting better, but it's just a terrible thing that an educated person was a bad person-worthy of death. Anyway, a large number of children in Cambodia will not ever get an education, not just a higher education. But you can bet that those who go on to higher education are few and far between.

Now, I know we live in a different place and our country has not seen the same problems they have. But I am very thankful for an education. Not just high school, but more so, for my college education. Since about the 8th grade I dreamed of the day I would move to Ozark Christian College in the thriving metropolis of Joplin, Missouri. Let's just say the journey has gone different than I ever anticipated, but in some ways, it has been everything I hoped it would be.

One of the reasons I am thankful for the education I have received at OCC is because it has honestly allowed me to enjoy school. I get to study things that pertain exactly to what I want to do with my life. This has allowed me to look forward to going to class each day and write a countless numbers of papers, study some intense memory work, and take tests with a zeal I have never had for school before. The knowledge I have gained while at Ozark is irreplaceable. I am forever thankful that Ozark has instilled in me the idea that school can actually be enjoyable!

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to learn about my area of interest under the most Godly set of professors I could have ever asked for. One of the things I always tell people when they are considering Ozark or want to know what I love about OCC is this: This is your family. It's no longer professor-student relationships, it's like every professor becomes your mentor. These are the people you will look up to and what to be like whether or not you agree with all of their thoughts and ideas. These are people you don't just learn from concerning the Word of God, or in my case, Psychology and Counseling. These are the people you learn from for four years concerning the life you lead and how to be the person God intends for you to be. I would have never developed into this version of me had I chosen to go somewhere else, at least not in my four years of college. As I approach the end of my second to last semester, my heart is filled with the sorrow you feel when you are about to move from your home. I could never express my thankfulness to the faculty and staff at OCC for pouring in to my life for four years... and some of them, I know it will continue in the years to come. Choosing Ozark was easily one of the most important decisions I have ever made. The people I have known from my time there have been by me through incredibly important and trying times. I will forever be thankful for my OCC family.

Just the two of us

1. What are your middle names? Gwen and Evans

2. How long have you been together? On December 8th it will be three years total, but we have been married for 5 1/2 months!

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? About 4 1/2 years. 

4. Who asked who out? He asked me out.

5. How old are each of you? I am 21 and Tyler is 22

6. Did you go to the same school? We went to the same college, but different high schools.

7. Are you from the same home town? Nope, Tyler is from Stillwater, OK and I am from Owasso, OK... just about an hour apart.

8. Who is the smartest? Tyler. He is extremely smart. 

9. Who majored in what? I will graduate in May with my Bachelor of Christian Ministry: Psychology and Counseling and Tyler has a Bachelor's of Christian Ministry: Student Ministry and another BCM: Church Planting.

10. Who is the most sensitive? There is no question that that is me!

11. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Umm probably Cancun. But I throw in a picture from NYC too since that's kinda far!

12. Who has the worst temper? Definitely me. I don't think Tyler knows how to get upset about anything. Okay thats not true, but it's a very rare occasion that he is actually upset.

13. How many children do you want? 2-3. But who knows. That could all change once I actually experience the whole having a child thing. 

14. Who does the cooking? I do most of it, but Tyler is a really good cook. I just really like to do it. But he helps when I ask, and he always does the grilling.

15. Who is more social? Definitely Tyler. I am very much an introvert. Sitting at home with Tyler is perfectly fine with me, but he definitely needs more social interaction than I do.

16. Who is the neat freak? Definitely me. Tyler's not super messy but the mess doesn't bother him.

17. Who is the most stubborn? We are both stubborn. But I might be a little more so.

18. Who wakes up earlier? Right now we both wake up at the same time. But that will change next semester.

19. Where was your first date? Olive Garden and then this Christmas Light extravaganza thing in Carthage, MO. 

20. Who has the bigger family? Mine is bigger. (I have three siblings, Tyler has one)
21. Do you get flowers often? Well it depends on the definition of "often"

22. How do you spend the holidays? This year and last year we split them between both families. Living only an hour apart makes it easy for splitting. But who knows how we will do it in the future!

23. Who is more jealous? Neither of us

24. How long did it take to get serious? Umm well it depends, me or him? Me=I was probably serious prior to us dating... and Him=awhile =)

25. Who eats more? We both eat a lot but he probably eats more.

26. What do you do for a living? Right now I am a student and Tyler is the Interim High School Minister at College Heights Christian Church.

27. Who does the laundry? I do most of the time.

28. Who's better with the computer? Definitely Tyler! Without him I would be lost. 
29. Who drives when you are together? We split pretty evenly. It depends on whose car we take, who has more gas... Tyler doesn't love driving, and I do so we both drive a lot.

30. What is your song? Until You by Dave Barnes. We both used lyrics from this song in our gifts to each other one year for Valentine's Day... so it was pretty obvious that this was our song.

Passion

I am so thankful that God has given me a passion. It took me a bit more time to figure out what it was than what I would have liked but my timing isn't necessarily always best. I had the intention to become a teacher when I first came to Ozark, but it did not take me long to figure out I only saw that as my best option rather than truly finding something that was really me. It's really hard to figure out what you want to do in life, so I now totally understand people taking one year after high school to figure that out. I kind of did that but it was very convenient that I could stay at Ozark when I finally figured it out.

Through my journey at OCC God has revealed slowly through different classes that I have taken what my passion is. It was easy for me to figure out that Psychology and Counseling is where my heart is, but I'm still not even sure where that is leading me. But I am thankful for God slowly showing me different areas that I am passionate about. I don't necessarily think that these passions are going to lead me to huge careers full of money and successful things on worldly standards. I think that God has been teaching me that where he is leading me is not necessarily going to be what people expect or even okay in the world's standards. But I believe he has set my heart in the right place. As cliche as it may sound: my passion is helping people.

Choosing to stay at Ozark to pursue my bachelor's is a risky thing. I struggle with this risk on a weekly basis. I can't go anywhere I want to grad school... There is a specific list of places I could possibly get in to. But there's no telling if I will even end up close to those places. This is why it is a risk. It's risky because this path may not lead me to some high paying, or paid at all, job. But God has laid it on my heart that he is going to take care of us if I will honor him by pursuing his will for my life. I am okay with this, but I keep running in to people who are not. I understand the use of financial security- I really do. I understand that it is important. But I can't deny God's calling, I am sure of his calling on my life and  of the fact that if I am honoring God's will that he provide and he will take care of me. I am his child no matter what. 

My struggle is rooted in the fact that audible voices can be more easily heard than the voice from my Father. But if I am constantly pursuing his voice over this world my heart will remain in his plan.