New Dreams.

Today feels like a perfect spring day. In fact, the only thing that seems to be missing is the Carolina fresh pine air. Spring ALWAYS reminds me of North Carolina. Every spring break we'd pack up the mini-van and head down to Charlotte (from Ohio) to my dad's brother's house. It was a grueling long drive without those fancy dvd players, video game players, cell phones, or any other electronics except books on tape and redneck radio stations. But we survived the trip every time and loved every minute of it, well except when dad wouldn't pull over for a bathroom break because he was "making good time."

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 Charlotte always meant warmer weather, pine tree smell, Easter Baskets, Easter Morning service, Nascar track viewing, Ham, New Sunday Dresses, swimming, and Bojangles boo-berry biscuits. I cam to love Charlotte, the atmosphere, the people, the lifestyle. Charlotte was always expanding, had Wal-Mart, was warm, always clean, and different then Ohio. Charlotte made me fall in LOVE with North Carolina.

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 I couldn't wait to go back every year. I even stayed for a couple times in the summer for a couple months at a time. While there, I had plans to attend college at UNCC (University of North Carolina, Charlotte). I even toured the college while I was there and had no other college interests. Then things fell apart. My sister and her husband got in a disagreement with my uncle. My dad took my sister's side of the disagreement. Charlotte was lost in an argument over something that no one can remember. My dreams of college at UNCC were trampled upon.

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I graduated High School and had no future plans.

However, God knew my heart and my passion for North Carolina. He sent messengers in the form of a future husband, friends, and family. He let me dreams new dreams and attend college where I was. Finally, after many years (or what seemed like it) of Marine Corps moves,  I attended and graduated from University of North Carolina... the only difference was the location. It was no longer the Charlotte branch, but the Wilmington branch; the college on the beach.

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God listened. I just had to wait on HIS timing, HIS plans, HIS desires for me. I had to be still and let everything happen. I had to make new dreams, I had to rely on my passions and desires to be alive again and recreate new goals to understand HIS work inside me. It sounds like a lot, but really, I just had/have to be faithful and do the little things so that He could/can train me for the BIG things.