Today is August 29th. I had to check my calendar for that one because for me, it is still summer (and I still don’t know what day it is). This August brought forth brand new territory. It is the first year that I didn’t buy school supplies, move into a dorm, or meticulously organize assignment schedules. And to be honest, it’s a little weird.

We spend our entire childhood bobbing in between the routine of the school year and the respite of summer vacation. When August rolls around, we get back into a rhythm of productivity, schedules, and schooling. August means fresh notebooks. August means learning.

I graduated college in May, and won’t be going back to school. It would be easy to assume that my season of learning has come to an end. But this eternal summer vacation has brought a sense of freedom, and lots of new life. Even though I’m not spending my days writing papers or hitting the books, I am learning more than ever before. Learning is not confined to the classroom. In fact, I think that what we learn in the classroom prepares us to be students of the world that swirls outside of it.

I married my best friend in June, and have spent every day since learning more about him. I’ve learned that he is a late night snacker, and there is no such thing as a serving size of chicken nuggets. I’ve learned more about myself, the church, and rural Iowa geography. In the three months that I’ve been married to Ben, I’ve learned a lot from him, too. Ben has taught me that it is okay to be bad at things. It is okay that I’m not a great cook, because I’m experimenting and learning. It’s okay that I can’t do latte art. I’m learning. It’s okay that I’m not a great businesswoman. I’m learning. School is over for me, but the learning has just begun.

I’ve been learning a lot about God, too. I think that we can find comfort in the fact that we will never run out of things to learn about Him. There is an eternal supply of wonderful things to learn about His heart, His will, and His character.

“You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” (Psalm 40:5)

The wondrous deeds and thoughts of the Lord are more than can be told! Amen! We will never run out of things to discover about God and his goodness. Jesus and His mercy. The Spirit and His power. We are allowed to be imperfect because our Heavenly Father is perfect. Because He is entirely good, and cannot be entirely known, we can rejoice in the truth that the unknown things about Him are entirely good, too. All of the things we don’t know about God are good things. This is good news! We can spend our days learning and messing up and learning more because our Father delights in it.

“In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear.” (Psalm 40:6)

The heartbeat behind this blog is my desire to be a student of my surroundings. I make mistakes every day as a wife, a business owner, and a follower of Jesus. It is my intent to learn from my mistakes, and openly share what I learn as I explore and cultivate a life on this side of eternity. I know that there are lots of women in the same circumstances as me (newly married/ fresh out of college/ starting a small business). I hope that the things I write here will encourage you to keep learning, and maybe teach you something along the way!

Grace and peace,

Avery

(Image credit: School of Styling)