I read a fun fact about Coloradans through something on Buzzfeed:
That we love to talk about the weather. Maybe more than anything else
besides football. I think something that can be added to that list is
seasons. I feel like I'm always saying "I can't wait until...." fill in
the blank with whatever the next season is supposed to be. Or when it is
supposed to be summer, and it is acting like winter, I can't help but
comment to everyone who walks up to my poolside bar how weird our
weather is, even for Colorado. However, I'm constantly reminded that
every May it snows, every June it rains, every July is hot as Hades, and
every August I manage to catch a flu like cold.
I
think it's appropriate to talk about seasons because life is full of
them, and each year is full of them, depending on what region you're in
of course! I also think it is appropriate to mention seasons because I
had written about how happy I was summer was here, how fast it came upon
us, and now I will be writing about the end of summer! Parents are
cheering, kids are crying, seasonal employees are partying and the rest
of us are stuck somewhere in the middle. For me in previous years,
August and September were no fun because we are always so short staffed
that 6 days a week and over time is inevitable. The end of this summer
marks something special I haven't experienced since I left for my
freshman year in college. It's the end of summer, beginning of fall, but
it is also the end of my time at Pinehurst and the beginning of a new
path God has laid out for me. This is the beginning of a new season of
my life, and I so hope this is the season where God reveals to me where I
belong.
I've almost felt like a teenager going off to
college again. Getting a redo on what I so massively screwed up. While I
understand that is not the case for this, it is easy to compare it. I
feel like I have been reliving my teen years and embracing my
inner-werido by listening to too much pop music (I rediscovered BBMak
today...) and watching tv shows that depict the lives of teenagers
including Pretty Little Liars, The Secret Life of the American Teenager,
and Boy Meets World. Watching the last made me check out the spin off
about Corey and Topanga's daughter. The pilot episode is where Riley is
trying to make her world her own, instead of her parents. Okay so I'm
not a 6th grader (though most are taller than me and I feel like one
sometimes), but I felt connected to her struggle. I'm not trying to
discover my world. I've done that for years. I'm handing my life over to
God and making my world His world.
However the
closer this transition gets, the scarier it gets as well. I have lots of
fantastic friends, family and colleagues who have supported me both
financially and by praying for me for a long list of things. I have
people supporting me from every spectrum of my life. Some who I have
only known for a little over a week, some I have only met once, and
those who have been a part of my real family/chosen family my entire
life. God is so wonderful to have brought these people to me when I need
them the most. I still have a hard time looking for words when I pray
about support, but God knows what I need and what I am asking for, even
if I struggle to make the ask. Even though I have a little over two
weeks to raise a large amount of support (minimum of $6,000) I still
have no doubt in my mind that God will take care of me, protect me, and
guide me through the process of getting the rest of this support! I'm a
lady on a mission with an almighty Lord backing me up and honestly,
there is nothing I don't believe I can't accomplish with that!
To those of you who have supported me:
I thank you from the bottom of my heart! If you have not received a
thank you card, it is in my purse and will be mailed or personally
delivered within the next week.
To those of you who would still like to support me:
Cash or checks can be given to me or mailed directly to the church. Be
sure the checks are made out to Flatirons Community Church and in the
memo line you put "Internship: Melissa Cheatham" and mail them to
Flatirons Community Church
Attn: Internship Program
355 S. Boulder Road
Lafayette, CO 80026
OR ask me for a pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelope!
You may also send your gift toward my internship support via the internet! Clicking here will take you to the website to donate online. Don't forget to put my name "Melissa Cheatham" in the interns name box!
This
week my official notice was turned in to my boss saying my last day is
September 1st. 13 days until I move into my new residence (for the next
11 months). And 18 more days to finish raising all of my funds so this
journey of a lifetime can begin!
