'Tis the end

So yesterday was my final day at Eastern Correctional Institution as a Case Manager Intern. Since then I've been busy packing and now have some time to write my final entry before the U-haul truck comes and I transport all of my life to Chapel Hill. I'm really not sure how I want to end this blog. Perhaps I'll write a list of things I have learned this summer while living in Greenville and working at Eastern. The list could go on for a long time, but I'll try to keep it to eleven.

1. Integrity Baptist Church in Greenville is a great church. I wish I had taken the time to write an entire entry about how great this church is. If you live in Greenville and are looking for a church that is rooted in God's Word, strongly values Christian community, and is passionate about serving the city of Greenville then I would recommend going to Integrity Baptist Church. You can find out more about the church at liveintegrity.org

2. There are still adults out there that enjoy their jobs and love what they do. I met some of those people at Eastern. Now, I'm not so afraid to "grow up" because it's still possible to find a job that you enjoy and even if it's not exactly where you pictured yourself doing, you can make the most of it, just like some of the people at Eastern are doing.

3. There are still adults out there that are very cynical. I met some of them at Eastern and they have had their share of influence on me. I find myself thinking about things and all of a sudden I'll think of what a cynic would say. Like the other day when I found out that some people at Eastern wanted to take me out to lunch. My first thought was, "oh they probably just want an excuse to get away from this place." I was shocked that I thought that. Then my boss reminded me that people were willing to take time out of their schedules to join me for lunch. Knowing what cynics might say about things could help me to better understand where they're coming from, but I don't ever want to be cynical like that. Now I'm not saying these cynics aren't telling the truth when they say that people are only out there to get ahead and get more money, and they're really not out there to help you; but how unhappy a life to get sucked into that game of competition, manipulation, and distrust. Yeah, being loving and kind may mean you get rejected and hurt every once in awhile, but rejection didn't keep Jesus from loving us and I hope I remember that as I grow older and enter the workplace.

4. People in Greene County purposely set their fields on fire. And even if there is gray, billowing smoke coming from the field and the smoke is covering the road, you shouldn't call 911 because the operator will just tell you that the people of Greene County are field-burning today.

5. Chaplain Wood had some great words of wisdom for me before he left my going-away lunch. He said, "Remain strong in your faith, like I know you already are. That boy you've got, love him. And this is important, there are two paths: you can either love God, love others and use things to help others OR love yourself, love things, and use others to get those things."

6. There aren't many speed limit signs in Greene County so you just have to guess how fast you want to go, but even then you'll probably still get passed by Greene County natives.

7. While being where God wants you to be, you can do something you never even realized you were doing. My boss told me my last week here that I had showed him that not everybody from UNC-Chapel Hill was morally liberal. He also said that I had surprised him and made him re-think some of his thoughts about my generation. When he said this I said, "There's still hope for us." Yes, and that hope is Jesus.

8. You can make a difference in someone's life. The GED teacher told me one of her favorite stories was the story of the starfish.

A boy was walking down a beach that was covered by starfish that had been washed ashore. He began to pick them up, one by one, and throw them into the ocean. An older man came up to him and said, "Boy, why are you even trying? You'll never make a difference to these starfish." The boy picked another one up and threw it back into the ocean. "Made a difference to that one," said the boy. He picked up another one, "made a difference to that one."

I like that story. The GED teacher says her job is worthwhile if she can just have one inmate get his GED. Of course, she's already helped several inmates get their GEDs so she's definitely making a difference.

9. It's nice to have family when you're in a new town for the summer.

10. God always has a plan. Sometimes you find out that you could have lived with your Uncle Short for the entire summer, rent-free in a place 10 minutes from work, but then you realize that God wanted you to live with three other girls in an apartment that was 35 minutes from work and that's ok.

11. As I get older I grow in awe of all my parents have done for me. It took everything I had to get up, go to work for 8 hours, come home, make dinner, and maybe watch TV or work out. How did my parents do all of that, plus take me to volleyball practice, plus spend time daily with God, plus do all the other things that parents do? I'm not sure; but maybe one day, a day very far away, I'll be able to do all of that so I can be a good parent, too.

I could write a lot more, but these are some of the important life lessons I learned the summer, as well as some of the little things I learned about Greene County and Pitt County. Thanks to everybody who took time to read my blog this summer and who sent me e-mails or made comments on the blog. I appreciate everyone's love, support, and encouragement.