OC blessings

In March I got to go to the annual associates dinner for OC. AM invited me to attend with her since both our husbands would be spending the evening networking at this event:



It made me think about OC and all the blessings that have come forth from my connection and experience there, so here's a top 10 list of those blessings that I can think of in no particular order.

1. The dear friends I made there are still my close circle of friends even now 6 years since I graduated and I know forever our lives will be interconnected in life long meaningful ways.

2. I came to OC not sure what I wanted to do with my life and left feeling like I had a clear path for a purposed career in a field that I feel I can contribute my talents too as well as be challenged daily and grow daily.

3. The OC community even blessed my life since I graduated with all the ways they have loved and supported my sister and nieces to help with healing and renewal following some tremendously challenging times in our lives.

4. I was inspired by more than one faculty member that challenged me in various ways to grow spiritually and professionally.

5. The love between me and Ryan grew and changed there, it became more mature and focused and grew deeper leading to our decision to spend the rest of our lives together.

6. Its were I got to worship and break bread daily with my brothers and sister in Christ and felt like part of a kind of community that I think God intends for us to be.

7. Its where my family grew: My brother met his wife and my sister met her husband and I thank God for his plan for them to be a part of my family.

8. Its were I got to live 4 years with my best friend and where we were each other's family while away from our own, where took care of each other and shared so many memories together.

9. Its the place where no matter how long its been since I've been on campus, few days or a few weeks there's a little something about it that will always feel like home because it was my home for a special and cherished time of my life.

10) I laugh a bit looking at this list, I hated my first seemester at OC but some how by the end of the first year everything changed. I learned through that, that sometimes when things are really hard and it seems it can't be going according to the plan you had in mind, it still just might be the path God wants you to be on.