This past week has been one of those that the sooner you can put it behind you the better off you'll be. After spending a wonderful week getting recharged in my Christian life, and spending my days happily ignoring the "real world", going back to everyday life has been difficult. Sunday afternoon I started a new job, Monday I started back to college, and Tuesday I found out that I might flunk one of my classes due to an assignment I missed while at camp. My mindset was still programmed like I was in high school, and I wasn't anymore. I'm in college. Guess what, you don't get make up work in college. So there I'd landed myself in a real nice situation. From that point on it seemed like it was just one stressful thing after another hitting me in the face, and I was starting to feel the pressure.

In the midst of all my frustration and self reprimanding I decided to start counting my blessings. If life was going to bring out the big guns then I was just going to have to grin and bear it. And once I started to look on the bright side I realized that even though this past week had been rough, there was a lot of good in it too. Tuesday after hearing the grand news that I might fail my class, I went home dragging my feet only to have my dad surprise me by taking me car shopping. We went and tested out some vehicles and I was glad to come out of it with a vehicle that actually has a working radio, but more importantly air-conditioning! Then on Wednesday after putting together and delivering a last minute speech in one of my classes I stayed after church just having some really great conversations with some wonderful folks. I left the church building with some of the weight lifted off my shoulders. Thursday was filled with stressful class after stressful class and I was really hating myself for taking summer classes when some friends of mine invited me out to lunch. We all sat around laughing and catching up, and I left the restaurant feeling uplifted. The small blessings didn't stop there, however, because as I was walking to my vehicle I noticed that with the line of cars directly behind me that backing out was going to be very difficult, but to my surprise a kind man stood behind my car and helped direct me out of my parking spot; I was so thankful for his help. Then another kind soul waited and let me out onto the highway. My day went very wonderfully after the kindness of my friends and those two strangers. Later that night I even got to go see the new Star Trek movie the night before it came out in theaters! I was truly blessed.

Today was a bit of a lazy day for me. I spent it in my PJs catching up on some school work and reading a book that I had been anticipating for about a year. I was trying to think what to write about for my article this week, and as usual my mind went to the things that had occupied my thoughts frequently. It was then as I sat relaxing, that I realized just how much my week had been improved by the small things that life had passed my way. It seemed like I had been taught many lessons, some good and some bad, but overall I learned that one or two acts of kindness can turn an awful week into something good. Tomorrow is a new day, and it is what we make it. If you happen to be struggling just start looking for the good. I promise you'll find it, and when you do things will start looking up.