On Being Hard on Myself, Also Growth

So if you've been reading my previous posts (and I've been writing them so I know!) you may feel like I'm a bit hard on myself, which is true. I would say that it is not all bad- believe it or not I am more comfortable in my own skin then I have ever been before! And I do think some of it stems from a commitment to be more real, more honest, and more vulnerable. But alas, I am also not the best at seeing the ways that I have grown and recognizing God's work in me so I figured in this post I could talk about some ways I've grown and how God has been transforming me.

1) Loving people!
So I'm a very punctual and organized person. When it is crunch time, I get serious. And if you are the opposite of that, odds were that you may kind of bug me and I could lose patience with you quickly. But, Jesus has been lavishing me with such peace and understanding lately that I have so much more patience and grace when I'm working with laid back people. (Still working on it too!) I've been able to learn from them in the process as well. It's been awesome. Some of my friendships have gotten so much better and deeper.

2) Not Hoarding My Time
I particularly noticed this Urbana when I saw a seminar for "busy people" and realized that I don't define myself as busy anymore. Let me explain... there were plenty of times freshmen and sophomore year where I almost had every minute of every day planned out. There was no room for spontaneity and I hardly gave any of that time to Jesus. It was like I knew how to spend my time better than He did. Ha.

So very fortunately this is not the case today. As I've learned to take less on, manage my time better, and give myself more time to rest- I have become so much more spontaneous! (And much more like a college student to be honest) And it's made some great memories let me tell you! Ice blocking down  a one hundred foot slip and slide with a bunch of friends was one.

3) Understanding God's heart for the oppressed ( This will actually be addressed in a post to come so I won't elaborate on it here, but I will say this one was definitely the most unexpected thing God has been up to in me)