LiveGrace

Tonight, I am on a plane ride back to my new home. As I sit here, I possess a sad heart that is full of happiness. Yes, that sounds so contradicting, however, it is so true for me. I am absolutely in love with my life in Dallas and I am eager to get back to see my new friends and resume where I left off back in the city. Yet, being home for these five days filled my heart in such a way only my family can. Though not everyone I spent time with is my blood relative, they are all family. I grew up surrounded by their love and these are my people. They are my foundation. I love these people so much and it filled my heart to be in their presence again. 

After seven weeks in Dallas, it has become evident to me how blessed I am in the way I have been raised. I always knew I had amazing parents, but moving away and hearing the wounds that can occur at the result of parents has opened my eyes to how lucky I am these are the parents God chose for me. They truly are amazing. 

One of the craziest things to me is how much Des Moines Christian has prepared me for this journey beyond their safe walls. DMC has always had a special place in my heart but wow! They truly do equip their students for the Gospel. I retained so much more Biblical history, truth, and knowledge than I realized and I have been able to use it in ways so unexpected. God really is working through DMC and the students within it. I am so thankful for the Christ-centered education I received that enabled me to think critically in the classroom to decipher truth. The teachers constantly pour out love and encouragement. They truly care and it makes such a difference. One of the most exciting things for me coming back to Iowa was seeing my teachers who made such an enormous impact on my life even if they didn’t realize it. Des Moines Christian is not a school to take for granted. 

I am so blessed with friends who are family. Finally getting to embrace those who I’ve prayed for from afar and those who have never stopped encouraging me was so exciting. I miss these people every day when I’m over 700 miles away but these are my people and I know they are always by my side even when I can’t physically feel them there. 

So those of you still at DMC surrounded by these amazing people, don’t take them for granted. Embrace the highschool drama because these next few months will fly by and you will never be with these people every day again. That may sound like a relief, but you realize how important the little things were once they are gone. Love always and as much as you can. Your legacy is not about making such a splash that everyone in school knows your name because in a few years, their attention will be drawn elsewhere. Your legacy is written on the hearts of those you impact. The impact on individual hearts lasts a lifetime. So love always and love big. Your time in this place is limited and so much more valuable than you realize in this moment. 

So thankful for this short trip home and that I got to spend it with those I love. So thankful for the abundance of laughter shared with my siblings and time of reconnecting with cherished friends. So thankful for the reminders of where I’ve come from.  Jesus is so good in how He has built the perfect foundation to launch me into my future. I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

With love and grace,

Olivia Mars