Being a college freshman has been a lot harder than I expected. No one told me how difficult it was going to be to make new friends. No one told me that there is practically no such thing as "healthy" food on campus, and no one told me how much I was going to miss my "normal." Those are things that you would expect to be prepared for when you start a new chapter of your life, right? Right, but I still was not even close to being ready. I was under the false impression that new friends popped out of random bushes and dropped out of the sky right in front of you. That does not happen. Just in case any of you were wondering. I kept seeing all these girls on Instagram with all of their "best friends" that they had met twenty six hours previously and being completely confused as to why I was still chilling in my dorm room reminiscing on good memories with my dogs. Don't get me wrong, I do love my dogs, but human interaction is also good for the soul. My best friends were making new friends and It did not take long at all for me to feel like I was being replaced. If you have ever had that feeling before then you know exactly how I felt. I was watching my importance level go down and I didn't know what to do. I was hurt, I was sad, and I was feeling sorry for myself. I was so focused on what I thought was being taken away from me that I did not even take time to think about the doors that the Lord was about to open for me. I was selfish and was not fully trusting God to take care of me and that is what caused so much pain right from the beginning. 

The Sunday before I moved to Auburn, my youth minister from back home pulled me aside. He told me that I am loved, that he is proud of me, and then he made me promise to find a church home as soon possible. So I took his words straight to heart and went on the search for a church family the first weekend that I was here. I was so ready to find a place to call home. There is nothing like finding a place to worship with other believers. Plugging into a church has been such a blessing for me and I have felt an abundance of joy come back into my life. 

After a few weeks of classes under my belt and a few hundred dollars spent on books that I barely even read, I finally felt like a college freshman. I knew the campus like the back of my hand and had most likely gained a few pounds by then. Going back to the "there is no healthy eating on campus" point. Weight gain came quickly and I even found myself praying for a faster metabolism. 

I know, that is a weird thing to pray about, but I guarantee you that I am not the first college student to pray about that.

I also continued to ask God to lead Christ seeking friends into my life. I asked Him for girls who would hold me accountable in my day to day life, who would pray with me in the hard times and praise with me in the good times, and who would love me and all of my weird qualities including my abnormally small hands and freaky long tongue. I asked him for friends, and he provided me with sisters. I joined Sigma Phi Lamba, a Christian Sorority at Auburn, as well as many other Universities around the United States. The girls that I have had the pleasure of getting to know are the the perfect examples of Proverbs 31 women and I am honored to be associated with them. The Lord has absolutely been faithful, and I am so very thankful for that.

Patience is hard. As human beings, we want what we want when we want it and if you're anything like me, you want what you want immediately. I bought a pair of boots off of the internet the other day and I was impatient just waiting for my package to get in 3 days later. I mean how stupid is that considering that it's still eighty degrees outside? It is hard waiting and it is especially not fun. For the first few weeks I was stuck in my own pitifulness and It caused me to be upset because I was not patient. God was telling me the whole time, "Morgan, have patience even in your time of doubt, because I am about to bless you abundantly." 

He is so good to fulfill his promises, His timing is perfect, and we are never alone because His hand is always holding us. He never lets go. Never. 

So why am I writing this? No, it is not to bore you or distract you from all the weird Facebook articles. This is for the girl out there at college who feels like she is alone and is hurt because of it.  My prayer for you is that you know that the Lord blesses those who wait. So even though you feel like you have been waiting forever, stand up tall and know that God is good. HE loves you so much. You are beautiful in every way. As you wait on whatever it is that you have been asking for, remember that His purpose is so much greater than our pain. Life may drag us down sometimes, but know this, God is good all the time and all the time God is good.