sarahedmondson: remember that time I had a blog I never updated?

So for all (if any) of you who still read this, I'm sorry. I never promised to be too consistent about this whole blog thing and that's quite obviously true. So what's happened in my life in the last 6 months? Well, here goes. Summer at Lost Valley ended up... incredible. Words honestly can't describe how much I grew to love that place, the people, and even my job. I eventually got good at waitressing and I loved it. Many times since I've left I've wanted to go back and be a waitress again. I loved the guests I got to know and the families I got to love on. I loved being able to serve people's needs and make their experience at Lost Valley memorable and fun. And I even loved the details. It still bothers me to see silverware not straight or a lazy susan without the honeybear facing the front. The people at Lost Valley took over my heart. While they could never fill the place of my friends from Taylor or HoneyRock or home, somehow the Lord gave my heart more capacity to love and created an entire section for Ranch friends. I'm fairly certain a day doesn't go by where I talk to a Ranch friend in some capacity and they are some people I honestly know I'll be friends with for life. And the place, oh the valley. I got to explore and see a place through almost 3 seasons now and while it changes and people come and go, it's still such a beautiful, wonderful place that the Lord's got His hand on. I love the way He uses the backdrop to soften people's hearts and bring them to Himself. Some fun experiences from the summer include watching my roommate from freshman/ sophomore year at Taylor get married, numerous horseback rides through mountains, creeks, rivers, and valleys, picnics in the beautiful Colorado sunshine, a stealth sleepover in the hayloft, sleeping on the roof with my roommates, bonfires with the waitrii, and two weeks at the end of summer where we focused on projects and spent so much time together as staff. While it started out SO tough, God refined me and did mighty work in me and I honestly get giddy just thinking about Lost Valley sometimes.

Mid-September I moved 2 hours west of Colorado Springs to Buena Vista, CO. I now work at a YoungLife camp here as a yearlong intern. Basically every 8 weeks I rotate to a different position on property staff. I honestly live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I live on the side of a 14er. I walk outside to stunning, colorful sunrises over the peaks every morning. Deer are in such abundance that they are considered pests in town. The people here are beautiful too. Some of the full time property staff have incredible stories and lives and so much wisdom that they constantly impart on us interns. The intern community has been the hardest part of being here, but also the most rewarding. God has been at work in me and stripping me of every part of myself that I held onto so dearly. While it's been so hard, I can see that He's doing this to bring me closer to Himself and make me more of the woman He wants me to become. I'm not going to pretend that I always love being here, but I know this is where God has me and I believe the words of Jeremiah that say the Lord has a hope and a future for me and that I will find joy HERE during this year. I have also been blessed to see that the Lord placed some of those Lost Valley friendships in my life for a specific purpose and some of them have become so rich since I've left the Ranch. They have supported me and prayed for me during the times I've struggled to be here and reminded me that this is the Lord's will for my life right now. I've also been greatly challenged by the other interns. We're 8 extremely different people, but the Lord has been using that to show me how to let others in and how to learn to love people well.

Some highlights of my time here thus far include going to Homecoming at Taylor and catching up with so many dear friends, enjoying a Colorado fall and winter (which is surprisingly sunny and not as snowy as I imagined), living in the mountains- they never cease to make me marvel, visiting the Ranch a few times and feeling like I was going home, spending Thanksgiving with my summer roommate and her family at Lost Valley (sorry Mom, but it was the best Thanksgiving food ever), celebrating Christmas with the interns and Frontier community without having the pressure of school and finals, going HOME for the first time since graduation, watching 3 of my closest friends get engaged (and being invited to be in one of their weddings!), having a beautifully white Christmas with my family, roadtripping to South Carolina with beautiful friends for the Lost Valley staff reunion and the 4 days being all together, and serving at Crooked Creek (another YL property a few hours north) with all the interns and some of staff.

How good is our God? While some parts of the last 7 months have been so hard and I would never choose them for myself, praise the Lord for His infinite love and that He's always drawing us closer to Himself. The Lord is redeeming me and using my life to honor Him, even when I can't see it. Thank you friends for your part in that. I'm going to post a few of my favorite pictures of the last few months to conclude this post. Bye friends!