Two Families

Fun fact about me: I don't break promises, and if on the rare occasion I do, it causes major stress to my soul. So when I promised Brandon (a senior at ACF) I would sit in the student section of Jordan Hare stadium at some point this year, I wasn't about to back down, despite many horrible past experiences. I made the random executive decision that the South Carolina game would be a great one to attend, so he set about finding me a ticket. I can honestly say, it's probably the best $40 I have spent.

After a really hard week at work, especially with the anniversary of Jacob's death on Friday, the intense adrenaline rush of the game and the joy that it brought me, was precisely what I needed. There was a moment in the second half of the game that I had to thank God for what was all around me. First of all, there was a stadium full of fans cheering on the team and school that I've loved passionately since I was in 8th grade. There was such a sense of family, a real definition of what it means to "believe in Auburn and love it!" (last lines of the Auburn creed). I was filled with such pride, watching our team play one hell of a game, and realizing that WOW, this is a family I will always be a part of. Although I have bled orange and blue for some time, there are things about Auburn that have always rubbed me wrong. I've had some really hard experiences here. I've had moments of hating Auburn and moments of adoring it. When my mother and I were talking about me interning for ACF she said something very, very wise (I expect nothing less!). She said, "Virginia this is a chance for Auburn to redeem itself to you." And it has. Things that have held me back from really enjoying Auburn and feeling a part of "THE family" are now being "re-done" in a different, positive light! The student section is one of those things, so after yesterday, I am feeling more and more a part of the Auburn family!

Secondly, I had to thank God for the people I was surronded by, on a smaller scale. It's my ACF family. There's just something about jumping up and down, screaming the fight song, yelling at the refs, white knuckling it when plays are reviewed, and rejoicing when we scored, with people who you love and you know love you. I've never had that in my life. Sure, I've had amazing friends and people who I thought cared about me, but there's a HUGE difference between thinking people care and knowing people care! I know they care because we're much like a biological family, whether we like it or not, we're all "stuck" together for the next year. We will go through ups and downs and situations that could tear us apart. But the way we have and will handle things help to define what we're all about. We're about loving people, right where they are. Loving people through the good, the bad, and the ugly. And pointing them toward the person this real love comes from!

Being a part of these two families is a beautiful gift. In James 1:17, I'm reminded that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." God is redeeming Auburn to me, He is teaching me that there are people who will love me for me, He is showing me over and over that He isn't going to go anywhere, and that His blessings are ceaseless.

Here's a picture of some of the students I was with last night (no we didn't wear bathing suits to the game....)









xoxo, va