Graduation

Graduation has come and gone and officially I am a DMACC alumni. I graduated this year with many of my friends including; Katelyn Kiehl, Hannah VanSickle, Brittnay Porter, Eliska Cramer, Nathan Joy, Stephen Crane, Alex Deeter, Blair Rosenbeck, and I believe more I am forgetting. 

A couple interesting points: 

*My whole house, a total of five women, all graduated this week

*We were the first graduation ceremony at Wells Fargo...woop woop

*Most of us are staying at DMACC :) 

 The DMACC Graduation Class of 2011

 PS: Im the one in blue :) 

The graduates left at the after gathering- left to right: Blair, Eliska, Katelyn, me, Alex

The ladies :) 

If anyone would have asked me at the beginning of this semester if I though I was going to finish and pass all of my classes I would have honestly told you no. The lyme has affected not only my physical body but also my brain (found out they call it lyme brain). I began missing homework assignments and getting behind in all of my classes when some of my friends stepped up and reminded me I was a student and that I had homework. They kept me up on my due dates and when I had class and they gave me rides to class. I can honestly say because of the Lords strength and grace and the wonderful friends and classmates He has blessed me with I passed all my classes and graduated. 

For those who do not know I am in the 2+2 program for Elementary Education with UNI. All my classes are in Ankeny with UNI teachers, we do our learning via ICN and online. The program is two and half years long and is part time. At first I was hesitant to do part time because I will not graduate until December 2013 but felt like that was what the Lord was asking me to do. Today I look back at how the Lord led and I am so thankful that I am a part time student now I have a higher chance at being able to handle part time being sick. Most people with lyme on antibiotics have to quit school, but I am praying that because it is part time I can remain in the program. I have been off work since February and prayerfully with one focus I can keep up in school. 

Thank you for your prayers in wisdom in a treatment, my parents and I talked with all of my doctors and decided that on monday I will begin my antibiotics. I will be on them for about two years, I will continue doing laser treatment and water therapy in hope that they make the antibiotics easer to handle. I don't exactly know what it will look like when I begin antibiotics but I do know that I will herx a lot more which in our eyes, although it is painful, it is good because it shows that the bacteria is dying. When I start the antibiotics I will become a lot sicker, sleep a lot more, and herx more but all of these are things that are expected and needed to ever be treated for lyme. 

The Lord has given me a lot of peace about beginning antibiotics because I know this is what the Lord has led me to, and if He leads us to something He will lead us through it. The Lord does not throw us off the nest before we are ready to fly, He prepares us today for what we may need tomorrow. I am not sure I will ever be prepared for what lies ahead but I have learned a valuable lesson this past week and that is to focus on today. 

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  ~Matthew 6:34 

If  I focus on tomorrow I forget about today, I have been practicing focusing on the day at hand and I see huge blessings in it. When I focus on today I live for today, for my reality, not something that could be in the future. I believe the only way to handle this lyme treatment is to look at each day as it comes, because if I look ahead I will get exhausted and not want to walk that road, I know it will be painful so why would I walk into pain. But I also know my victory lies in the Lord. 

Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses but we will boast in the of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen, but we have risen and stood upright.  ~Psalm 20:6-9

I have a long road ahead, one that will have many twists and turns but one that the Lord has perfectly planed out, even if I cant read the map. 

Prayer Requests:

*That I can remain a student through antibiotic treatment

*Unity in medical decisions

*Wisdom in decision making

*That I will focus on today