“A Time For Everything

For everything there is a season, and time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Praise the Lord that He provides a time for everything and that He desires to be with us through every type of time. This has been a passage I have been reflecting on throughout college and for this month of November I am specifically thankful for the comfort it brings. November has been a rough month. It has been busy and hard and painful. But it has also been a month of GREAT joy. And the beauty of it all, is that there is always time for both. Through my hard outside of fellows, here are some joys within the fellows that have turned the hard into good…

  • Emily and Ryan Walker welcoming me into their home and eating Taco Bell with them and AG around their table. Good times.

  • The girls. They came to sit with me while I cried and talked for probably an hour. They have made me feel so heard and cared for. I love good women and especially these women.

  • Sam Crutchfield, Chris Byron, and Eric Bolash coming with us on our Nicaragua trip. I have been praying for leaders like them for a long time and I am so thankful God has sent them our way. I can’t thank them enough for their gentleness, kindness, and warmth. The Fellows are so lucky to have them. And also Luis. Hi Luis! We miss you.

  • Ashley Crutchfield man. Another leader I have prayed so long for. She has shown us what it looks like to love the Lord well while also just having fun and not taking everything too seriously. She is strong, full of life, and gifted to be a leader. Raleigh Fellows is Raleigh Fellows because of Ashley.

  • Josh and Ryan fixing my car so I can finally listen to music again. This is healing.

  • Love! My friend Mary got engaged and I am so excited for the way God has brought Morgan into her life and the way he loves her so well. I am so excited.

  • Getting to see my dear friend Kat again at the DC Conference (shout-out Chattanooga Fellows). She is so full of joy and brings me so much joy. I am immensely glad to be experiencing the same thing as her even though we are miles apart.

  • Working with Bailey at St. Davids. There is no one else I would rather laminate a 5 foot Christmas tree with.

  • Learning more about how to pray. (Thank you Pauline and so many others!)

  • Not to take a page from her book, but living with LOLA! What a light she is. If you haven’t gotten to experience her smile, I highly suggest it. How I love sitting in the giant chairs, knitting together, and watching the Holiday.

  • Mark and Mona Hall. They are making host family feel a lot like real family. Thank you for including us in your Thanksgiving dinner and caring for us so well (and showing us your old yearbooks).

  • AND OF COURSE: FELLOWS. I don’t think I can ever fully express how thankful I am for these people. Never in my dreams of what Fellows would look like, did I think it would look this great. Thank you fellows for putting your all into what we are doing and making this so fun.

We would never know how good it feels to heal if we were never broken.

I recommend… Pokemon (the trading card app), PB&J’s (thank you secret Santa!!!), airplanes and airports, Creep (glee version), Zumba lessons from Chris, the Corn Kid, and definitely NOT blue takis and holding babies.

Happy Thanksgiving, peace and love, and until next time,

Evy :)

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