life beyond the well…

Author Archives: erin.almond


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Favorite Moments from 2011

2011 has been a good year. Actually, it has been a great year. Full of challenges, changes, and blessings. I’m grateful for all that I’ve been able to experience and learn this year, and excited to see how God will move in 2012.

Here are some pictures of my favorite moments from 2011:

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I met (and taught!) Luke nearly 10 years ago as an 8th Grader in Sunflower, Mississippi.  It was an honor to have dinner with him before he ventured off to law school!

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Jovian and I, having a little too much fun while being bridesmaids in one of my best friend’s weddings.  It was a privilege to stand in agreement for the union that was taking place.

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I was blessed this year to be able to present at the North Carolina School Counselor Association on financial aid for students.  This is me, in the car, following the presentation.  Finally able to relax after hard work!  Praise God for the opportunity to share knowledge with others!

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Camille and I, celebrating UNC’s Homecoming!  One of the great joys of this year has been able to reconnect with Camille and continue to build and strengthen our fellowship.  She is so awesome, and I’m blessed to have her in my life.

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Me, at the baby shower for one of my best friends.  I can’t believe my friends are old enough to have babies!  It seems like we were JUST in college.  Nevertheless, I was so happy to be there to support her; and I love being an auntie to my little nephew!

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Me, with Whitney, who is a former student turned Tar Heel!  It was great to be able to help her through the college application process and have her in class as a senior, and I’m even more delighted that she chose UNC for the next four years.  She’s going to take the world by storm, and I hope she doesn’t forget Ms. Davis when it happens.

I’m so thankful to God for the many blessings of this year!  2012 has big shoes to fill!


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So Anxious

I’m a week into Winter Break, which means I’m feeling refreshed and recharged.  I’ve had time to catch up on sleep, get back on a regular eating schedule, and tackle some of the basic tasks that I tend to neglect once I’m back in the habit of work and school.  I’ve also had time to reflect on this year and do some goal setting for next year.

2012 is going to be big.  Life changes of epic proportions.  Very little about my life will be the same one year from today.

I’m excited about what God is showing me, but as I begin to prepare and put things in motion, I feel really anxious.  I feel anxious, mostly because I can’t see how I’m going to get from here to there.  And for someone like me, that’s difficult.

I am a planner and a processor.  I spend lots of time thinking about the proper way to execute something (and why that is the proper way as opposed to another way), and then planning the execution so that it is as close to flawless as possible.  I guess I’m a bit of a perfectionist.

So, for me to know and understand that major changes are on the horizon and not have a clear vision as to how it might come to pass is slightly unsettling.  It’s unsettling because I, like many of us, like to be in the know.  I like to have an understanding of what is going to happen and why.  However, in this situation, I have an understanding of the WHY, but not the HOW.  Equally unnerving.

Nevertheless, I am confident of God’s plans to give me a hope and a future, knowing that I must trust in Him with all my heart and lean not unto my own understanding; acknowledging Him in every way.  And, I need not be anxious about anything, but in everything submit my requests to Him, and He will give me a peace that transcends all understanding.  Including my own.

Here’s to the next chapter; loving God, loving people, and seeking His will and fulfilling His purpose for my life.

Peace and blessings…