There You'll Find Me

So it has been an interesting week. My friends are all obsesing over being freshmen, in public school and some of my other friends have grown up. I recently got to talk to two of my best friends. One has a boyfriend and the other, well she'll be 16 in December. And I realized. It's hard. To go live your life and see your friends living their lives without you. Doing things they promised you would do together. Like for me, my best friend is turning 16- a day we've talked about for years- without me. I had promised to be there to celebrate it wirh her. 7 years ago. But God had a diffrent plan in mind.

So rounding things back to what I wanted to talk about, this week I read a book (There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones. If your looking for some light reading this is NOT the book I suggest. This is a heart grasping, tear raising life evaluating book.) So since I love to read this is nothing to brag about but it is because I've tried to read this book twice in the last 4 months. I could never get into it. I felt like I was reading a story about someone else's life and even though I was, I felt like there was nothing I would relate to. The story is about a girl who has suffered the loss of her brother. Years later and she's still not over it. She decides she wants to follow in his footsteps and do what he did for his senior year- go to Ireland. To see all the sights, smells, sounds, people, beauty he did. When she gets to Ireland things are great. Then suddenly they start to go downhill. I wont explain the whole story because it would pretty much ruin the book, but I will say some things that got my attention. Finley (the main character) goes to Abbyglen to find her brothers Ireland. To see the place that he found God. As you go through the book, you see this girl that everyone can relate to now and again. Someone who had hurt and closed their heart up to God. She cries out to God but never hears an answer. It's because she's not truly listening. You can't expect an answer but not be willing to receive one. Finley learns this and she learns that through hurt and sorrow and yes even death, there is hope.

This is something that has been true in my life. Too often I find myself saying to God "I can't hear you. Do you not love me? Your word speaks of your unfailing love and yet, I can't hear you speaking". As many of you may know, this past summer I went on a mission trip to a small town in New York. While I was there, I did devotionals every night. I couldn't remember the last time I'd done that. I don't think I'd ever done it like that at all. The more impacted I became, the more I was able to impact others.  I can't say that I hear God's voice like I hear my best friends, but I've learned that to be able to hear an answer, I have to let God speak. I have to open my heart up to him and to what he wants. Not what I want.

2 years ago when I moved to Pensacola, I would've looked you straight in the face and said, "I cannot wait to move out, go back home and get out of this dump." While I still would much rather prefer Virginia to Florida, I can't say that's my answer anymore. Not only because I have changed, met people who have changed me but also, it's not my choice anymore. And I realized, it never was. Yes I am a minor therefor I have to honor and respect the word of my parents, but it is ultimately God's decision. He chose to move me here. And I can say, I'm almost glad he did. Through everything I've been through, I can say; God's voice has never been louder. "But this happened so that we might not rely on ourselves; but on God" 2 Corinthians 1:9. In There You'll Find Me Finley has a battle cry verse. Well 2 Corinthians 1:9 is mine. What's yours?
-MJR

The Break-In part 2

So come to find out my mom wasn't home. I called her thinking she was in her room getting ready to go to work. And rather then cross the living room where the guys would've seen me i called her wondering 'how does she not hear that noise???'. Upon asking her that same question several times, i discovered that she was already at home. I told her what was going on right as my brother walked out of his room. I said what is the stupidest line ever. "Oh you hear that too?" I got a 'duh' look in return. When i looked back at the back door they were gone. I told my mom what had happend and she said she was on her way back home. Josh and I quickly let the dogs outside and within 5 minutes there was a knock at the door. The cops had showed up. When i walked outside the officer was asking my brother questions. "What did they look like?" "Where'd they go." "Did you see them". When he explained that "I don't know my sister was the only one who saw them" The officer turned to me. I tried to explain in detail but she didn't want deitals. She wanted to get a quick description and go. At this point i was on the phone with my mom. The officer told me that she needed to know quickly because the other cops were chasing them down. I hung up on my mom and told the officer what i saw. She thanked me and said they'd be back later.
About 10 minutes later my mom came home. And she wasn't even home for a minute before there was another knock at the door. Private Invesigators. I felt like i was a star in the newest episode of CSI. We all walked out on the pourch and talked about what happened and then the officers asked me if they thought i could identify them. I said i could. So i got in the back of their car (Where a very impressive looking gun was sitting in front of me) and we drove to where they were holding them. The two officers got out of the car and talked to the other officers. One stood by me with my window rolled down and asked me if i reconized the first guy. "No." I said.
"Okay. Do you reconize her?"
"No."
"What about him"
"Yes! Thats the one that was on my back pourch"
"Good good. What about this last one"
"I can't regonize the face but it could've been him"
"Okay. Well they're all going to jail but we appreciate you input." They got back in the car and we went back to my house.

When we got there the officers came inside and asked me to write a statement telling what i saw. I also got interviewed over a tape recorder. Then the investigators left.

*Knock Knock* "I'm getting really tired of that" I said. Josh walked over and oppened the door and you'll never guess who we saw. More cops. They told us they were going to walk around to the back and check out the damage. They took pictures of our chicken wire fence that had been completely torn out of the ground. The shoeprint on the door. And the fact that the inside of the door was cracked all the way down. Then they left. And it was over as soon as soon it started. Or so i thought.