Two days ago, I decided that it would be a good idea to finally go to the grocery store. I was in dire need of some type of food source (ended up getting nine different soups) and also a duvet for my bed. Little did I know that what seems like such an ordinary errand could be such a breath-taking moment. It is nearly half an hour walk to get to ASDA, which I believe is their version of “Wal-Mart”, which is a short walk in comparison to others we have made. About ten minutes into the trip we arrived at the coastline where the city of Aberdeen meets the cautiously inviting beachfront and frigid waters of the North Sea. As my friend, James, and I neared we took a right, which took us alongside Aberdeen’s club football (soccer) team’s stadium. Much to our surprise, the gate was just standing there wide open like this we were expected to be there for an appointment. We went in of course and had the whole stadium to ourselves for several minutes, taking in the vastness the stadium, the well-groomed grass field, and the atmosphere that lives there. We continued our journey towards ASDA making our way up a beautiful grassy knoll that rose high above all of its surroundings (a road less-traveled short cut if you will). What a sight it was! It had to be the highest point in the whole city. To our right we could see the whole city of Aberdeen, with its towering Gothic structures and historic buildings that stretched nearly as far as the eye could see. To our left we had the Boardwalk and the North Sea that one could just stare at and admire for days. On top of that, we were standing on a vast grassy knoll that Scotland and Ireland are notorious for. James, who is from Northern Ireland, was wondering why I was so joyful. After I told him, he took notice of it to, but he said he was just so used to this type of scenery that he has became somewhat numb to the beauty. As soon as I shared my thoughts and feelings, he too saw the beauty that was around him.
There have been many instances like this since I have been here, literally every day. Going to school here makes me smile on a daily basis as I walk out of my halls and onto this historical campus. Immediately as I walked outside today I heard bagpipes playing in the distance. Across my courtyard I could see that a Scottish wedding was just underway. You know its cool when you see tourists of all ages coming to your university as one of their stops while they are in Scotland. It is a blessing, that is for sure. I rode on a train for the first time last week down to Dundee and Glasgow and I guarantee everyone near me thought there was something wrong with me because I was just smiling the whole time, thoroughly enjoying myself. The train followed along the eastern coast of Scotland paralleling the North Sea to our left with grassy pastures filled with cattle and sheep, with hundred year old stone walls separating them from the others, round bales of hay scattered all throughout the horizon, and several small towns along the way. I was peering over everyone’s shoulder the whole time. I know I had to have been a nuisance to the regulars. Both the cities, Dundee and Glasgow were nice, very big with lots of incredible architecture and historic buildings, but I am not as fond of the cities as I am of rural areas and small towns. I had a great time though, going to a Christian Union conference in Dundee, and NEEDTOBREATHE concert in Glasgow.
Yesterday I decided to go to the Hill Head Flats, which are where several of my friends live. It is about a 15-minute walk from where I live, and in order to get there (without going a round-a-bout way, is to cut right through Seaton Park. I have heard stories about Seaton Park from my friend Ty Benbow, and nearly every one here about how it is extremely dangerous to walk through it at night, especially for girls, but during the day everyone travels through this park. I went through the narrow and nearly hidden entrance gate just north of campus, by a 500 year old massive church with its graveyard lurking all around, and started heading down the winding tree covered trail of the park. When I got to the bottom, it opened up to the most beautiful garden I have ever seen. I was amazed. The flowers had to have been of every color of the spectrum beautifully arrayed and tended. There were designs in the shrubbery, flowers within and alongside. The garden was large, and stretched for several hundred yards, and to the left through the trees was a river that ran right through the middle of the park. Maybe I haven’t been to too many gardens, but this was definitely the most beautiful park I have ever seen. For those of you who have read “The Shack”, it reminded me of that garden. To think that this was a dangerous place at night was hard for me to grasp with this immense beauty. I ended up walking through it that night with a buddy of mine anyway in the pitch dark with no flashlight. It was pretty interesting. Sorry mom.
This has been more than a dream come true so far. Ever since I was young I have wanted to come to this area. Now I am here, experiencing my dreams, not being let down for a moment. It’s as if I was led here, like I was meant to be here for a time since my youth, a desire that was planted in me when I was young for some appointment in the future. Since I have been here my relationship with the LORD has grown so much. It has been a season of much pruning, encompassed by His assuring love and His joy. I haven’t felt His love in a long time. I haven’t experienced His joy in a long time. I believe He has brought me here for multiple reasons. But one personal reason by far was just to show me that He is truly good. That He wants you to do the desires of your heart if you are His children and love Him, for they are His own. He wants us to do them, so we can have His joy. He is stripping from me my preconceived thoughts and attachments to legalism, religious and Pharisee mindsets, selfish desires and motives, and is showering me with His freedom and grace. He wants you to have that too! “But when one turns to the LORD, the veil is removed. Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. II Corinthians 3:16-17
May He give you eyes to see and ears to hear today! Love you guys!
