PRIDE COMES BEFORE THE FALL...Wed. Feb. 11

Hi, Y'all.
Well, this week has been a complete roller coaster. First, I had an awesome day because I was one of only 8 girls chosen to eat with the "education tourists" (teachers from NC and VA). It was cool because I just got to sit there, taking my time eating a boy's chow box, and talking to a couple of men and women about boot camp, my home life, my education, etc., and who would walk into the room but SSgt. G. !(her recruiter) He ate with me and we talked for a good while.
I also got to shoot 15 rounds on my M16 and got the best score in the platoon:)
Sounds good so far, right? Well, then the crud hit the fan. 2nd and 3rd squad were in the ISMIT (a big room with a giant rifle video game, pretty much) and some of the girls got caught laughing at one of the male instructor's jokes by the series Gunnery Sgt. , who happens to be kinda witchy. She went and told SDI M. that her platoon was acting stupid and joking with the males and she should be ashamed of us, etc.
Senior went insane. She threw her black SDI belt on the ground, HANDED our guide on over to 4009, furled our flag and made us unblouse our boots. All of which should NEVER happen at boot camp. It's the ultimate humiliation, To top that off, when we got back to the squad bay, the other DIs gave us the cussing out of our lives, forced us to take off our uniforms and throw them on the floor, where she proceeded to stomp on all of them. K. picked hers up, and when DI SSgt. L. tried to pull them out of her hands, she fought over them in a kind of tug-of-war. It was a BAD night. AND following day, no thanks to some stupid recruit who snuck out into the trash and stole food THAT SAME NIGHT! Some people just can't learn. She won't confess, either.
I know I told you guys how cocky we were getting, right? Well, a funny thing happened after we got jacked up last night. During free time, Rct. D (the Christian) came up and asked if I wanted to do her Bible study with her. Confidence at an all time low, I was like, 'fine, whatever', I can use it because things can't be any worse for me right now. Well, she opened her little book, and apologized cuz she'd gotten the dates mixed up and we were on Feb. 14th. So she had me look up the scripture assigned for that date and read it aloud. Amazing enough, it was 2nd Cor. 12:7-11. The timing couldn't have been better!
So although things are kinda rough right now, I'm hanging on, kinda waiting out the storm, and keeping a humble head on my shoulders. Because like it says, it's in our weakness that His strength shines through. I need to let that happen.
I love you all, and I'm half way to seeing you!
xoxox Ruby
"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Cor. 12 7-10