His joy comes in the morning.

Today wasn't perfect (no day ever is), but today was really good.  Today, I think, was God's way of reminding me that He will give me the reprieve that I need if I will just give in, trust that He's got my back, and quit fighting for control.

Let's start off with the best thing first, shall we?  You know what I'm going to say it is.  Duh.  This kid.

I didn't get to see him for very long, but the time I did get to see him was amazing.  The fact that he happened to have the one day off this week that I would be in Raleigh  is just totally a God thing. Plus, he was willing to leave his visiting girlfriend to drive over and see me for a few minutes, and that means so much to me.  With him living in Raleigh full-time and me leaving for DC for the summer next Saturday, if we hadn't had this day, I don't know when we'd get to see each other again.  Part of me thinks 5 months is way too long to go without seeing your best friend, but honestly, I came to a really cool realization.  These past 5 months have shown me that I really am finally secure in us.  Yes, I miss him often, but not once did I question if we were still okay.  NOT ONCE.  Do you know how long I've been waiting to get to this point?!   I mean, we've always had that kind of friendship where no matter how long we go between visits, we pick up right where we left off like we'd just seen each other the day before, but all those worries I held onto for so long, worries he told me over and over and over again that I didn't need to bother with, are finally gone!  Talk about liberating.

The appointment was fine, just like I expected it to be.  The doctor just wanted to make sure that the new seizure medicine is working out, and I'm doing great.  They also took some bloodwork to make sure that the level of the medicine in my blood is okay or if they need to change the dosage, and to check on all of my organ functions.  The pancreatitis messed with my liver and kidneys, too, so they just want to make sure all is well there.  I'm expecting it to be fine.  I don't have any more abdomen pain, and I haven't had any of the issues I was dealing with when I was sick, either.

When I got out of the appointment, I got a super sweet text from my blog friend Lauren after she read my blog post from last night.  She was just really encouraging, and it felt really good to hear from someone who understood where I am because she's been there, too.  Sometimes all you need is someone who's willing to remind you that your mistakes do not make you a bad person or a bad friend, they just make you human.

Tonight, Chelsea went to check the mail, and in it she found a card for me.  It was a Thank You card from Kim and Grant, a couple whose blog I randomly found through a retweet on Twitter.  All I did was donate $5 to their adoption and send them an email, so knowing that Kim took the time to write me a short and simple but so sweet card and mail it to me just put a huge smile on my face.  This blogging world never ceases to amaze me.  People who aren't a part of it often think those who are involved in it exaggerate or are crazy for getting attached to relationships with people they only know through computer screens, but anyone who has made friends through blogs and Twitter and whatever will tell you that these friendships are just as real and heartfelt as face-to-face friendships.  I will definitely be putting something back in the mail to this darling couple in the next day or two. :)

I've spent a good deal of the rest of tonight talking to my roommates and also getting to know some of the other people doing the TFAS program this summer.  Yay new friends.  I can't wait to finally get up there!  This next week and a half is going to crawl.

This was one of those days where I didn't even have time to think about being sad.  Today was exactly the reminder that I needed: Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning.