Monday, May 3

hello east quadders!!! :)

Before I begin, I have a disclaimer: I am ridiculously exhausted right now and therefore apologize if this email is disjointed and doesn't make sense.

So this evening, a semi-amazing thing happened: I had the chance to actually talk to my mom about harvest. I mean, obviously I've talked to her about it before, since she knows I go there, but usually when the subject comes up, she and my dad look kind of uncomfortable and end up changing the subject. so really, even being able to talk to her about something as superficial as the setup of life group and all that it entails was really good because i think it gave her some insight about what my life with harvest is like. so anyway, yeah that was good since I really want to be more open with my parents this summer about how i've grown spiritually in the past two years. also, i think the more they understand about the church, the better they'll handle it when i tell them i'm doing ocr. lol.

Ok, so moving on to reflections from the brp. So today I read Song of Songs 8 and Hebrews 8. Honestly, the first time i read through it i was really tired and i don't think i comprehended that much of it. But then I reread it and I started to understand it better. In this part of Hebrews, the first covenant God made is being compared to the second covenant (Jesus). Verses 7-12 of this passage really struck me because it says "For if that first covenant had been faultless, no opportunity would have been sought for a second one..." and goes on to describe how a second, more perfect covenant is fulfilled through Jesus, basically because we humans can't do it on our own.

I think I'm just continually struck by how perfect and fulfilling God's love is for us.

I love and miss you all,
please please please be part of this,
Shelby

p.s. i hope you're all enjoying your spring/summers thus far. :)