Sara Dawn Mundy [a blessing]

Last year, the summer before my freshman year here at Moody, I was praying frantically that Sara (my roommate) would get into Moody for that semester. Two days or so before orientation began, the chances seemed slim. However, Moody admissions finally realized what an honor it would be to have Sara attend the Institute. So, that was awesome that she got in, but we wanted to be roommates, and it didn’t look like that would happen. Fortunately, though, her volleyball coach convinced Student Residence Life that it was absolutely necessary for Sara and I to room together. Cha-ching. Everything worked out!

Now at this point, Sara and I knew each other fairly well. We had been friends for a while, since we grew up in the same (small) town, same church, and one of my best friends is her cousin, but we had just begun growing closer over the past year and a half or so. Thus, I was very excited to get to know her more on the level of college roommates!

Boy, was I in for a treat. Let me tell you a little bit about Sara Dawn Mundy. She is incredible. My friendship with her is a blessing for which I am forever grateful. Sara is constantly encouraging to me. As I watch the way she lives her life, I see how much she cares about others. She has a compassionate heart and is very passionate about what she wants to do with her life. Sara is wise, though she may not believe it. When I ask her for advice or her opinion on things, ranging from fashion to theology, I feel confident with her responses. I know she speaks honestly, and I know she takes me seriously. Now, Sara has endured some extremely difficult and painful things while here at Moody, and I hate to see her hurt. But it’s a privilege to be able to walk through life with her, to be able to pray with her and for her, and just to take part in her life. This girl has a heart for the Lord, and she takes on trials and obstacles with great faith. She keeps her eyes on her True Love, and she rests in His love and comfort. I am incredibly excited to see where God takes her in this life.

On a different note, Sara is one of the FUNNIEST people I know. I am going to live ten years longer just because of how much she makes me laugh. I mean, she doesn’t even have to try. She is hysterical, and hearing her laugh brings joy to my heart. Oh, and she makes delicious food!

Another thing I love about Sara is that she accepts me for who I am. I can be myself around her; I can tell her anything that is on my mind without fear of being condemned or judged. I know she loves me, and she has proved that to me countless times. She serves me in many ways, and I definitely don’t deserve it. She puts up with my overreactions and my obnoxiousness (That’s actually a word!). She gives me wonderful, warm, loving hugs. She really is a gift from God.

I told her last year, “I love that no matter how my day went, I can always come back to the room knowing you’ll be there.” And it’s true; it’s always comforting to know I can come back to such a wonderful friend and sister in Christ. I love serving alongside her and growing with her.

Sara is beautiful internally and externally. She will go far in this world, because her ultimate desire is to serve her Maker. She knows what she’s been given, and she wants to give back to Him as much as she can. It’s an honor to be her friend, roommate, and sister. ☺ She is absolutely great. I really love this girl—from the depths of my heart.

Unrecognized Sin

This is a story about a girl who thought she was doing pretty well. She was content with where God had her, and she wasn’t dealing with too much. She was preparing for her future at a nice little Bible college. It was a new year full of new friendships, new classes, new professors, new passions, new ideas, etc… Everything was new. Life was exciting.

But then, through a series of events, she realized something about herself. She was selfish, jealous, dirty, sinful, and not at all put together. The only reason she thought she wasn’t dealing with much was because she wasn’t allowing herself to see her sin. She couldn’t see the blackness in her heart. She couldn’t see her pride or her brokenness.

So, instead of continuing to live in ignorance, she knew something had to be done. Her solution: pray that God would continue to open her eyes to the ugly, filthy sin in her life. She prayed that God would help her purge her heart, mind, body, and soul of all the worldliness she allowed to infiltrate and didn’t even realize.

The incredible thing was, as she prayed, she saw herself begin to clean up. She could see her soul being sanctified, dusted off, and cleansed. But the unfortunate thing is that the process hurt. It was painful to see her sinful nature despite all the blessings and goodness God granted her. How could she hurt her Maker like that? How could she treat him like that? How could she treat others like that? It hurt to see just how depraved she was.

This process brought the girl to her knees; it completely and utterly broke her. With nowhere else to run but to the arms of her Creator, she fell before him while he looked on with love. His cleansing, bittersweet breath rushed all around her, surrounding her with warmth, protection, assurance, hope, and love. She was being purified—washed, rinsed, and rung out. And it hurt; in fact, it was incredibly painful, but in the end, she knew the pain took her right where she needed to be. It led her back to her first and True love.

I’m sure you figured out fairly quickly that this girl happens to be me. This is the story of what I am dealing with right now. Why share it? Because this is how I process. I write, and I share. And as of now, God is still revealing my unrecognized (by me) sin, but it’s good. I can the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” God is refining my faith. Being brought to my knees, with an ache in my soul, and tears streaming down my face, is not a bad thing. It’s where I find God.

One Moment

This doesn't rhyme, and it isn't all grammatically correct. I don't really know what you would classify this as, but I was journaling and it just kind of spilled onto the page. It's a little bit harder to share, since I don't usually share entries like this. But go ahead and have a look.

In one solitary moment, your whole world was rocked,
In one moment, your life was forever altered,
You weren’t quite sure what that meant yet,
But you knew, with your whole being—it was changed.

One of the loves of your life was lost,
You held as tight as you could,
But that solid grip was loosened by an inevitable event called death.
You frantically grasped for any life that was left,
But try as you might, the beloved life was gone.

You kept reaching and reaching,
But to no avail.
The realization came then,
A life-sucking blow,
You gasped for breath.

How could you go on living?
How could this be real?
How could this happen to you?
Tears were shed. Hands were held.

Everything you held dear in that clenched fist slipped right on through your fingers.
And even though his last words served to be extreme comfort in a dark time,
Your heart ached—for you, for your family, for your friends.
And it still aches. The pain is cutting, burning, to your very core,
Because in one single, dreadful moment, it all changed.
Everything. Changed.

But, my dearest friend, I have no doubt about this:
One day, even if you knew it all along,
You will realize the hope that is sitting right next to you.
Everything you have been longing for will fill your heart.

In one single moment, love will overwhelm you.
When you are at your rope’s end,
And you feel that you have called on your Savior
Too many times and He hasn’t come to the rescue.
It seems He has deserted you,
It is at this point, this single moment,
You will find yourself overwhelmed by His sweet, pure, unconditional, and unfailing love.

You will embrace it,
Laugh in it,
And weep over it.
Because it is all the comfort you have ever needed.

And this may happen numerous times, because we lose sight of what is important.
We lose sight of everything we need.
But when you are almost to the bottom of the pit,
And you are only longing for His love,
You will see him, and you will see that he's been there all along.

He will never desert you, though it feels like it at times,
In those times—it is really you who has deserted Him.
So though, that one single moment was something terribly awful,
And it brought you to your knees in desperation and despair,
You will encounter another single moment, in which your world will be rocked,
Again your knees will hit the ground, but this time,
You will be filled. Filled with love and hope and beauty.

How could there ever be beauty from this misery?
You will know, one day. You will know.
In one single, solitary, moment, you will know.
Love will rescue you, in one second.
That’s what it all comes down to,

Because there is love in every corner of our lives,
And it is shockingly obvious in those defining moments,
When you are vulnerable and honest,
That is when it all changes.

And that, my love, is when you will know,
What you have really known all along.
That is when it becomes reality.
In that one moment.
Hope. Love. Beauty.