Transform

Finally Back!! January 10, 2012

It’s finally time to start blogging again. I guess I’ll start by updating you on what’s happened since I last posted. I’ve made it through a lot so let’s get started!

Scholastically, I’ve somehow managed to graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After four and a half years of struggling to find my passions and myself, I finally finished…for now. I ended up with a degree in Classics and Religious Studies with a minor in Mathematics. Who would have thunk…Andrew Karrmann with a college degree…well, now I need to do something with it.

Personally, I’ve had some pretty serious (and awesome) changes in my life. Most importantly I met my girlfriend, Jordyn, about 6 months ago. She’s caring evidenced by her work as a CNA and med-aid on an Alzheimer’s floor of a nursing home. She’s got some sweet hobbies; she won female shooter of the year for her division, which makes her the best female archer in Nebraska (she kind of reminds me of Artemis). Oh yeah, did I mention she’s good looking? Because she is.

On the front of recent events, I just returned from a few days of skiing in the Colorado Rockies at Copper Mountain Resort. It was really fun except for two things, there was very, very little snow that was not man made and I might have dislocated my thumb while trying out the terrain park. I’d like to blame the thumb on the icy conditions caused by the lack of snow, but I’ve slowly come to realize that it was mostly due to me being dumb. Oh well, what’re ya gunna do?

Now, on to the most pressing thing and the purpose of this post, I very recently started my first real world Job (as in Monday was my first day). I am now “Andrew Karrmann, Minister to Tweens and Teens” at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ankeny, Iowa. Basically this means I’m going to be working with the Junior High kids, and there are quite a few of them (180ish), as they begin their journeys through confirmation. This is both extremely exciting and scary. I’ve spent a couple summers interning, which should help me out a lot, but it was with a group of kids roughly 1/4^th the size of this group (and that included everyone 6^th grade-12^th grade).  Hopefully this new and exciting adventure will help me leave some wisdom on this blog for all to enjoy…but who knows…

Starting this new part of my life also meant leaving everything I knew behind me in Lincoln, Nebraska. Which really, really sucks. All of my friends, people I knew, places to eat, great deals to keep me from spending my money, and my girlfriend stayed in Lincoln. I know it’s not like I’m never going to see them again, but it’ll never quite be the same as living there. I am definitely excited to start my new life, but I’m really sad that my old life is being left in the dust.

Luckily, I read a passage today that helped me to put all of this into perspective. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I’d encourage you to read this whether you’re going through major changes in your life, or if you’re just coasting along. Sometimes I need help understanding that life is full of different phases, each has its purpose and sadly (or happily) can never be fully duplicated. As I read this passage I’m reminded that in each of life’s phases it is important to take it all in for exactly what it is. Whether you’re happy or sad, contemplative or energetic, embrace it and love it. In each of these moments exists an opportunity to simply be human and to rely on God to provide whatever you’re lacking.

So for now, I’ll be asking God to help me focus on what’s ahead of me without forgetting what’s behind. I am really excited to move forward and hopefully be able to leave some stellar views in this little corner of the interweb. And check out this song by The Byrds: