After a Busy Week. . .

I decided to climb a tree. Yes, the life of a graduate student has enveloped me for the past week, and I needed an outlet. My aunt and uncle have an apple tree in the back yard, and no one enjoys its gifts except the bugs and one groundhog who makes appearances for each meal. I have gone out to pick them, but most have been either hanging beyond my reach or already infested. This evening, however, after eating my dinner on the screened-in porch, I walked out to assess the possibility of climbing up, and then the extent of the reward for my labor (which turned out to be quite satisfactory, not because of the number of good apples, but because of the refreshment of a challenge completed and enjoyed). Since I was home alone, I decided not to go for the best apples which happened to be hanging farthest from the trunk and highest from the ground. But I did find a few that the insects had missed.

What does this have to do with graduate school? I'm not really sure. Maybe it is my way of keeping some balance in my life! This week has had its challenges: accompanying for a senior vocalist preparing for a very quickly-approaching recital, deciding on and researching for a large project, preparing a Beethoven sonata presentation and performance for which I have not had the length of time nor the wrist cooperation to perfect, health concerns in my family members and friends, and my own struggles of wrist pain, exhaustion, and other personality "weaknesses" (yes, these are good for me, but hard). The Lord has been so good to put these things in my life in order that my weaknesses would magnify His strength. And I also praise Him for the time He gives to take a break from graduate school life and enjoy His creation, even in an apple tree.