In Conclusion

(shooting the ball at pick-up soccer this fall)

Fall Quarter has come to an end. I decided to start a new tradition this academic year by writing down what God has done in my life at the end of each quarter. As always, this one was a crazy one with many crazy stories to tell.

What God has taught me: That everything I have, He has given me. Seriously. Everything!

The Backpack Story

Just before midterms, I was waiting for Jon to get out of class (we carpool), and was long boarding around F and J lots. I noticed that there were pedestrian paths between the lots that could be used as a chute straight down the hill of the lot. I set my backpack down in the lowest lot and went up to fly down the chute. I looked for Jon at the top and rode down, only to find my backpack missing. My laptop and all my textbooks were MIA the night before midterms. Awesome. It turns out a computer scientist in Jon's class (that I was waiting for) had scooped it up so it wouldn't be messed with and contacted me to return it. In the 24 hours I didn't have anything I usually relied on as a student, God taught me to rely on Him and the people He's put around me.

Power Cords

At the start of finals week this quarter, I had to stay up all night to finish a paper due Monday morning. I was happily working at 137B Saturday night when my power plug light flickered off. I felt the power adapter: it was molten hot! I let it cool fully, but the same thing happened again. I know! I thought, I'll put some ice on it. So I spend the next 48 hours straight working on my paper (thanks 305A). 45 hours in, my ice-cooled power adapter went *POP* and I smelled the dead electronics smell. It had sent it's last electrons to my lappy. In the middle of my freaking out, I remembered that I have an old power adapter that I found in my house. I almost discarded it like 10 times over the years, because who needs 2 power adapters? Who even has two power adapters? Well, it turns out God knew I would need it at a desperate time (no one in the world has the correct plug for my old lappy) and provided for it perfectly. God taught me that he has our back even when we don't know it or ask him to.

iBook

While preparing to write up a final exam (in class during finals week) that we had 2 hours to type our responses to, I felt like I should throw my memory stick in my computer and back up what I was about to write. I had never done it before, and was worried the ridiculous flashing light would be a distraction. As I worked, I saved my file to the memory stick, kind of subconsiously, the whole time thinking I must be paranoid, because I am the only one in the class doing this. Well one sentence from the end of my work, my computer screen goes blank and I listen in horror as the hard drive spins down. My computer had crashed and would not restart, but I happily handed my prof the jump drive with all my work on it. He let me add the last sentence on HIS computer. God didn't want me to fail the final, He wanted me to get a new computer :-P it was getting pretty slow. He is the great provider kids.

Troy