Grab a cup of coffee.

This is probably going to be a lengthy one. And if you don't mind, imagine all of this being in a British accent. Much obliged.

Today was brilliant. Woke up (Mom's birthday). Had coffee and coffee cake. Went to work, and was pretty chipper all day. Went home and changed into flowy, flower pants. Wendy showed up and off we were on our Saturday adventure.
Tangent? God puts people like Wendy and friendships like ours as blessings in life. I really hope that you have one like it. As I was saying...
Wendy and I went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part II. Me and Harry Potter: I was introduced into the Potter world only a short time ago- I think February or March? But I feel a part of it none-the-less. And the last installment of the Harry Potters... was incredible. I cried... yeah. Seeing people unite usually does that. And I know it is silly to think that a movie, Harry Potter of all, would change my perspective (and really, it was all the elements of the night that did it).

What Part II did: For a while now, I have been chained by fear. Unexplainable fear: I'm not sure where it came from or how it entered my, what I thought, fearless heart, but it was there. And I'll be more specific with what sort of fear was crippling me: fear of the end. Fear that I won't get to live life (which is ironic considering that fear keeps you from living life) before the end. Before disaster and war and division begin. Fear that I have been on the "wrong" path for my life. And fear that I have been on the "right" path... and won't be able to keep walking it.

Fear of the end: in Part II... it pretty much felt like the end. It was dark. People were dying for a cause. It kinda seemed a little hopeless. That's how I feel about America... about the world... MY world... these days. The feeling that there's nothing I can do and I should just go through the motions until the end. Why fight? Just live in fear. Harry Potter changed that. Harry was "the chosen one." And while our stories may not work that way, while it is not all up to one person (well, technically, it is... well, was. But he did that a long time ago [Jesus Christ]), we still have the opportunity to change things. Watching Harry Potter was an adventure... and for a while now... I have been craving cup after cup of adventure! And what bigger adventure to embark on than the one set before us? Really, what good is it to go on any other one? When the one set before you is the one that matters. So, I began looking at the "end of the world" as one big adventure. Scary, sure. Uncertain, you bet. But we have each other. We're on God's side. Think of all the others that have been on God's side: Gideon, David, Moses. You remember their lives? Their stories? Why should ours be any less extraordinary than theirs or even Harry, Ron, and Hermoine's? Ours is real. And it is right now. I have always placed courage on a high pedestal. Only in the past year have I been told that I am brave. And right now, that needs to shine through. So does yours. The people of Hogwarts- Neville (<3 x infinity), Luna, Fred and George, Snape, Cedric- showed me the power of working together. And that there is no greater honor than fighting for what you believe is right and true and pure. It reminded me of what I needed to do (proof that God can use anything to get through to you). I need not be afraid.

Fear of my path: as long as I am following, trusting in, praying in, believing God... there's nothing that is going to change my route. I believed, in an instant, that Vanguard is where I was meant to be (on Earth, anyway). And as I was talking to Wendy Darling tonight about the options if I couldn't go back to Vanguard... she said to me, "But that's not you." She's right. It's not. I don't know if there is much more I can do to get back to school with no worries and no fears. But I realize... God tends to do things a bit last minute in my life. Well, last minute to me. To Him it's His perfect timing. I am trusting. Really. I mean that. I am testing. And I am starting to pray more. As I can.

The point is: wherever I go next, it will not be without God. And in that, I can have courage and joy.

Bring it on.