...and a happy new year!

Well, I know it's two weeks past New Year's Day; however, it seems that there is much to write about as we have turned the corner into 2011. 

I am sitting at the Barnes & Noble Starbucks here in Chattanooga upon the aftermath of what will be known (someday) as the blizzard of 2011 here in the southeast. Up on Lookout Mountain Sunday night/Monday morning we received over a foot of snow, which is unheard of in this area. And there was at least 7 or 8 inches down the mountain in Chattanooga, as well as the rest of northern Georgia and Alabama. Absolutely insane! I'll just say, in my six years here I have never seen anything like it or even remotely like it! So schools all around have been canceled for the entire week, even us. So at times it has been mass chaos as the students are running free and becoming more and more bored as each day passes.

It's good to be back, but it hasn't really felt like I have been completely back as there has yet to have been a normal work day back on the campus. But I will say that I have been able to spend time with many students, take some great snow walks, have some really cool conversations, play a lot of games, do some good reading, etc. And might I add, the campus is really beautiful with so much snow...along with the surrounding views from different overlooks where the landscape is full of rolling white hills and snowy ridges.

I don't feel as if I wrote much on Christmas and my time in Florida. The break was really fun and enjoyable...just really busy at times (on my own choosing). I was able to do a lot of cool things and spend some real good time with my family and with friends. 

Here is a short video covering a bit of my time in Florida:

I left Florida on the 30th to be in my old roommate's wedding in Montgomery, AL. I left at 6:30 a.m. and drove up through Tallahassee through Dothan and finally arrived in Montgomery 14 hours later for the bachelor party. It was a really awesome wedding...most of the groomsmen were good friends of mine and it was just cool to be a part of a wedding. Especially a wedding where the families were from Alabama and Maine...so cool to see the combination of those very different cultures.

2010 was a great year. The Lord truly blessed me and those around me. Just looking back through this blog I see how fortunate I am to have had such fantastic experiences. 2010 was an adventure, filled with great people, fun times, beautiful places, and a lot of learning. In 2010 I visited 6 countries, 18 U.S. states, had 26 flights, and drove 20,000 miles. It really is crazy when I think about it. And all these experiences have brought me back to the same place...

No matter where I am or what I've done, how exciting or mundane, I see God's hand in it all. It has become impossible not to see His intricate work in this world. He is intimately involved in the vast beauty that surrounds us. And that beauty can be found anywhere, anytime...Yes, it is easier to find and appreciate the beauty in the mountains of New Zealand than sitting here in this Barnes & Noble, without a doubt. But I think what God has been teaching me is to slow down and see the wonder that is around me; the wonder of His creation. Beauty is inescapable. And God reminds me of His character as I live out each day...that He is intimately involved in the affairs of this world. All of creation cries out the glory of God, and though as C.S. Lewis states "Nothing is yet in its true form," as we await the true fulfillment of all things, we still can see His hand at work.


I have been learning to see this beauty in people, which as a Christian, I realize is the most important thing I can do...recognizing that this Weight of Glory (again Lewis) lies on my shoulders as I have opportunities to share the truest beauty with those who long to have the deepest longings of their hearts filled with beauty that does not dissolve. 


May 2011 be a year filled with true wonder and beauty...and may we all be eager to share it with those around us.

-b garrison