It was a nice winter, but I'm ready for the leaves to come back. I'm a southern girl now, there's no need for snow around here. Oh sure, a small sprinkling is a treat every once in a while. But, the snow is so rare, I'd rather lose the cold weather altogether and with it the hope of a snowfall.
Such hope is empty anyway. It cannot create snow.
A sad statement, admittedly, but such is life.
Our winter is bare and sunny. Drabness is short lived. Gray retreats as quickly as it appears. Sun surprises us weekly. And we wear shorts.
But the sun reflects on the naked limbs of the trees, and they respond with a faint hibernating groan. Come back, they say. Not now. We're tired.
And so the sun is wasted. There is no glory, just unfulfilled potential.
Which really, is not anything at all.
(Sigh)
I sit here in quiet and long for the leaves.
Lesson Learned: America is being covered with snow as I type. I had no idea.
Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transition. Show all posts
January 03, 2014
December 27, 2013
Lesson 153: Reflections from 2013
For the first half of 2013, I was wrapped up in the
seminary world, writing papers, reading books, dialoguing about the church and
ministry. Tunnel vision was set. The goal was ahead of me. All of my being was poured into finishing.
After graduation, in a way, I experienced a sense of loss, a loss of purpose. How could my life possibly have meaning without seminary in it? I had always been a stay-at-home mom as well as a student. How was I going to survive if I lost one half of my identity? What in the world was I going to do with all that free time?
Of course, this sounds ridiculous from the outside, but the focus was so consuming for such an extended period of time, that the fear seemed entirely legitimate. I lost many a good night's sleep over this.
However, after spending four years devoting almost all my time (and energy) to studying Scripture and teaching others, I took a break and gave attention to normal pursuits. For the past six months, I have learned about gardening, finances, minimalism, baking, saving, photography, and interestingly, the piano. I've learned about blogging and small businesses. I've taken a class on public speaking. I've also been blessed with the opportunity to serve and volunteer in a number of ways. I've taken over the majority of the household responsibilities of laundry, doing dishes, cleaning, and meal planning. I take a walk outside most days.
That sounded quite triumphant. The switch did not flip that easily.
In a counseling class this summer, Dr. Tim Lane posed this question. "When was the last time you did something that you did not want to do, but you did it anyway, because you knew it was the will of God?"
Immediately, all my efforts of seeking the Lord in finding contentment in homemaking raced through my mind. I don't ever want to clean the house, but I pray and the Lord gives me strength to pick up the next toy. I don't want to figure out where all our money is being spent, but I pray and the Lord grants me patience to proceed.
Oh, I thought (feeling kind of miserable), there are a million times a day this has happened lately. A million and one even. But, it all feels so useless in the grand scheme of things.
Dr. Lane looked us straight in the eye and said, "You can be confident the kingdom of God is advancing."
Every time you say no to your own selfish desires, to your own agenda, and say yes to the will of the Lord, you are growing in grace, regardless of who is around to see.
It has been wonderful to realize for myself, not just in theory, that the work of the kingdom looks different at different stages of life and that's ok. Making my bed for my husband has become a holy endeavor, a way to serve and love Jesus. Faithfully washing, folding, and putting clothes away has given me a chance to grow in my trust of the Lord. Taking care of my home and family, welcoming people in, giving of our resources, is kingdom work!
I am hopeful that I will be able to utilize my seminary degree in a formal setting someday. In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm praying that 2014 would include some additional training, in the direction of Biblical Counseling.
But for now, as cliche as it sounds, 2013 was a year of discovering joy in the mundane, purpose in the everyday, contentment in the simple. The Lord has been so gracious.
For this lesson, I am grateful.
Lesson Learned: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 "Now concerning brotherly love ... we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you."
This post is linked up to a collection of other wisdom, end of the year posts. Find those posts HERE!
After graduation, in a way, I experienced a sense of loss, a loss of purpose. How could my life possibly have meaning without seminary in it? I had always been a stay-at-home mom as well as a student. How was I going to survive if I lost one half of my identity? What in the world was I going to do with all that free time?
Of course, this sounds ridiculous from the outside, but the focus was so consuming for such an extended period of time, that the fear seemed entirely legitimate. I lost many a good night's sleep over this.
However, after spending four years devoting almost all my time (and energy) to studying Scripture and teaching others, I took a break and gave attention to normal pursuits. For the past six months, I have learned about gardening, finances, minimalism, baking, saving, photography, and interestingly, the piano. I've learned about blogging and small businesses. I've taken a class on public speaking. I've also been blessed with the opportunity to serve and volunteer in a number of ways. I've taken over the majority of the household responsibilities of laundry, doing dishes, cleaning, and meal planning. I take a walk outside most days.
That sounded quite triumphant. The switch did not flip that easily.
In a counseling class this summer, Dr. Tim Lane posed this question. "When was the last time you did something that you did not want to do, but you did it anyway, because you knew it was the will of God?"
Immediately, all my efforts of seeking the Lord in finding contentment in homemaking raced through my mind. I don't ever want to clean the house, but I pray and the Lord gives me strength to pick up the next toy. I don't want to figure out where all our money is being spent, but I pray and the Lord grants me patience to proceed.
Oh, I thought (feeling kind of miserable), there are a million times a day this has happened lately. A million and one even. But, it all feels so useless in the grand scheme of things.
Dr. Lane looked us straight in the eye and said, "You can be confident the kingdom of God is advancing."
Every time you say no to your own selfish desires, to your own agenda, and say yes to the will of the Lord, you are growing in grace, regardless of who is around to see.
It has been wonderful to realize for myself, not just in theory, that the work of the kingdom looks different at different stages of life and that's ok. Making my bed for my husband has become a holy endeavor, a way to serve and love Jesus. Faithfully washing, folding, and putting clothes away has given me a chance to grow in my trust of the Lord. Taking care of my home and family, welcoming people in, giving of our resources, is kingdom work!
I am hopeful that I will be able to utilize my seminary degree in a formal setting someday. In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret. I'm praying that 2014 would include some additional training, in the direction of Biblical Counseling.
But for now, as cliche as it sounds, 2013 was a year of discovering joy in the mundane, purpose in the everyday, contentment in the simple. The Lord has been so gracious.
For this lesson, I am grateful.
Lesson Learned: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11 "Now concerning brotherly love ... we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you."
This post is linked up to a collection of other wisdom, end of the year posts. Find those posts HERE!
November 06, 2013
Lesson 133: A Refuge in Transition
In yesterday's post, we examined some underlying causes of difficulty during times of transition. I highly recommend reading yesterday's post before proceeding with today's. Part one can be found here.
_____________________________________________________________________
Translation from NIV 84.
_____________________________________________________________________
Psalm 16 was written by David, during a time of great transition. He had gone from being a shepherd boy, to a man who stood up for the Lord and defeated Goliath, to a trusted military advisor of the King, to a hunted man on the run. David had proved so excellent in military life that King Saul was jealous and wanted him dead. David is on the run from Saul, and it is during this that he writes this psalm.
Talk about transition!
It is safe to say that within a few years' time, David's roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources have changed. He is in transition ... and it's a hard one.
As we work through these verses, we will come to find that even in his crazy circumstances, David's heart is full of joy and peace. Why? David has found his refuge, his safety, his hiding place in the Lord.
Today, I would like to offer Psalm 16 to you. My hope is not merely to use this passage as a source of important bullet points, but to give you this psalm as a resource. You see, Psalm 16 is not merely a description of David during a time of transition, but it is his meditation. These are the things that David was thinking about, dwelling on, living in. As we see in v. 7, these truths have penetrated his heart.
So, when you start to feel the crazy coming on, the awkwardness, the fear, I want you to open your Bible and start to work through, think through, pray through Psalm 16. Ok?
Let's dig in.
1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
Keep me safe, O God. Keep me safe! Another translation says, Preserve me. I am scared. I am crying out to you. I cannot keep my head above water. The baby will not stop crying. I have no friends. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Keep me safe!
Why? For in you I take refuge. Lord, you have to keep me safe, because I am resting in you. Why am I resting in you? Because apart from you, I have no good thing. There is absolutely nothing in me that handle this situation apart from you. There is nothing in me that is good enough, strong enough, brave enough, smart enough. Nothing.
And so, I am coming to you, because you are my refuge.
Be my refuge, Lord. Keep me safe.
Isn't this exactly what we want from the Lord during a time of transition? We want safety. We want security. We want to know that we are being taken care of.
Find your security in the Lord.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
David says that the Lord has assigned what has been given to him, and he calls it delightful and pleasant. I don't know about you, but being on the run from a man who wants to kill me, does not sound delightful or pleasant. But David's refuge is in the Lord, and therefore, he knows the situation assigned to him is good.
The circumstance you are in, your life stage, this awkward transition, has been given to you by the Lord. But the Lord is good, and you will be ok.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
The Lord himself will guide you through the situation he has brought you to. Where do we receive the Lord's counsel from? Well, from other believers as already mentioned, but most importantly from his Word.
We see here that the Lord is counseling David at night. It's not as if David wakes up in the middle of the night, turns on his light, and begins to read God's word to receive counsel. No, the word of God is already in David's heart!
Proverbs says, "Out of the overflow of your heart, the mouth speaks." Your prayers come from the overflow of your heart. Fill your heart with God's truth! Study God's word and memorize it.
Imagine that you wake up in a cold sweat one night. The crazy starts, the vicious cycle of longings, regrets, fears, longings ... You start to pray, "Oh God, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." Friends, there is no power in such a prayer!
What if in the same situation, the crazy starts and out of the overflow of your heart comes, "Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge!" This prayer immediately brings to mind God's goodness and strength. It reminds you of who God is and how He loves you. Such a prayer has the power to bring your heart to place of peace.
I cannot stress enough, memorize Scripture. Memorize this whole Psalm. If that sounds intimidating, memorize the first verse. Memorize, memorize, memorize. Many of you have fresh minds still. This Scripture will penetrate your heart and come to mind when you need it most. I guarantee that if you are faithful in this, the Lord will be faithful to use His word in your heart. It will not return void!
Verses 8 and 9 tell us some more sweet stuff. David talks about how the Lord guards, and therefore he is not shaken. As a result, David's heart is glad.
But then, the passage starts to get kind of weird.
9b my body also will rest secure,
_____________________________________________________________________
Psalm 16
1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on lips.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Translation from NIV 84.
_____________________________________________________________________
Talk about transition!
It is safe to say that within a few years' time, David's roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources have changed. He is in transition ... and it's a hard one.
As we work through these verses, we will come to find that even in his crazy circumstances, David's heart is full of joy and peace. Why? David has found his refuge, his safety, his hiding place in the Lord.
Today, I would like to offer Psalm 16 to you. My hope is not merely to use this passage as a source of important bullet points, but to give you this psalm as a resource. You see, Psalm 16 is not merely a description of David during a time of transition, but it is his meditation. These are the things that David was thinking about, dwelling on, living in. As we see in v. 7, these truths have penetrated his heart.
So, when you start to feel the crazy coming on, the awkwardness, the fear, I want you to open your Bible and start to work through, think through, pray through Psalm 16. Ok?
Let's dig in.
1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
Keep me safe, O God. Keep me safe! Another translation says, Preserve me. I am scared. I am crying out to you. I cannot keep my head above water. The baby will not stop crying. I have no friends. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Keep me safe!
Why? For in you I take refuge. Lord, you have to keep me safe, because I am resting in you. Why am I resting in you? Because apart from you, I have no good thing. There is absolutely nothing in me that handle this situation apart from you. There is nothing in me that is good enough, strong enough, brave enough, smart enough. Nothing.
And so, I am coming to you, because you are my refuge.
Be my refuge, Lord. Keep me safe.
Isn't this exactly what we want from the Lord during a time of transition? We want safety. We want security. We want to know that we are being taken care of.
Find your security in the Lord.
3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
Here David talks about the difference between God's people and those who follow other gods. He is very explicit. He basically says, those who follow God are glorious and delightful. Those who follow other gods continue to become more miserable. Those who never realize that relationships cannot protect them, those who continue to find their self-worth in their children or in their job, their sorrows will increase!
But, the people of God are glorious and delightful. They are a blessing to one another. In this time of transition, seek out believers and seek out wisdom from believers. Why? Because believers are finding their refuge in God. They are finding their safety and security in the Lord, and they will encourage you to do the same.
David says that the Lord has assigned what has been given to him, and he calls it delightful and pleasant. I don't know about you, but being on the run from a man who wants to kill me, does not sound delightful or pleasant. But David's refuge is in the Lord, and therefore, he knows the situation assigned to him is good.
The circumstance you are in, your life stage, this awkward transition, has been given to you by the Lord. But the Lord is good, and you will be ok.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
The Lord himself will guide you through the situation he has brought you to. Where do we receive the Lord's counsel from? Well, from other believers as already mentioned, but most importantly from his Word.
We see here that the Lord is counseling David at night. It's not as if David wakes up in the middle of the night, turns on his light, and begins to read God's word to receive counsel. No, the word of God is already in David's heart!
Proverbs says, "Out of the overflow of your heart, the mouth speaks." Your prayers come from the overflow of your heart. Fill your heart with God's truth! Study God's word and memorize it.
Imagine that you wake up in a cold sweat one night. The crazy starts, the vicious cycle of longings, regrets, fears, longings ... You start to pray, "Oh God, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no." Friends, there is no power in such a prayer!
What if in the same situation, the crazy starts and out of the overflow of your heart comes, "Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge!" This prayer immediately brings to mind God's goodness and strength. It reminds you of who God is and how He loves you. Such a prayer has the power to bring your heart to place of peace.
I cannot stress enough, memorize Scripture. Memorize this whole Psalm. If that sounds intimidating, memorize the first verse. Memorize, memorize, memorize. Many of you have fresh minds still. This Scripture will penetrate your heart and come to mind when you need it most. I guarantee that if you are faithful in this, the Lord will be faithful to use His word in your heart. It will not return void!
Verses 8 and 9 tell us some more sweet stuff. David talks about how the Lord guards, and therefore he is not shaken. As a result, David's heart is glad.
But then, the passage starts to get kind of weird.
9b my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
What is going on here? Is David acting like he will never die?
Well, no. The apostle Peter quotes Psalm 16 in Acts 2 and then says, "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ."
Peter tells us that David is looking forward to the resurrection of Jesus. We know that Jesus died on the cross, but did he stay dead? No, he rose from the grave. He came back to life. His body did not see decay.
The Holy One spoken of here is Christ.
Now, that's all well and good, but what does the resurrection have to do with transition?
This whole time I have been telling you that God is David's refuge, God is my refuge, God is your refuge. It may not seem all that helpful.
Here's the thing. The God that Scripture is telling you is your refuge, the God that assigned you this situation, the God that counsels you through it, the God that guards you ...
THIS GOD DEFEATED DEATH!
What are we most afraid of? Death. Our God defeated it! He conquered it! He won!
This God is your refuge. He is powerful, and he is good.
And here's what you need to recognize:
If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then he can certainly walk with you as face the uncertainty of a new life stage.
If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then he can certainly calm your heart as you juggle multiple work / home roles.
If God can raise Jesus from the dead, then he can certainly sustain you and allow to remain faithful for the next forty years.
This God is our refuge!
I am not saying that reading your Bible is going to change your circumstances or make this time of transition flawless. But, as you grow and mature in your faith, knowledge, and trust of the Lord, transition does get easier. It doesn't hurt quite as bad the next time around, because you've seen how the Lord has been faithful to protect you. So you fear less and trust more.
This continues on and on through life until we reach verse 11.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Ultimately, the Lord is guiding us back to Himself. He will keep us safe until we return to Him. This life is temporary. It is passing away, but if you are in Christ, then your eternity is with Him, where we are promised eternal pleasures. It's going to be awesome!
But until then, continue to pray, "Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge."
Lesson Learned: The Lord is our refuge. There is no safer place to rest.
November 05, 2013
Lesson 132: The Problem of Transition
Imagine you have just settled into your seat on an airplane. Your carry-on sits snuggly stowed above, your novel and crossword within reach, your bottled water opened, and your pillow arranged just so. You close your eyes, breath a sigh of relief and begin mentally preparing for take-off.
Suddenly, you feel a tap on your shoulder. "Ma'am (Sir), we apologize for the inconvenience, but we are going to need you to switch seats."
How do you feel?
Slightly annoyed at the very least, but perhaps you feel something more intense, disorientation, irritation, frustration, anger, even embarrassment.
What's funny about a scenario like this is that you haven't even been in that seat for a very long time, and without realizing it, you've already begun to feel comfortable there. Your belongings are in order. You've met your seatmates. You feel ownership.
Then, out of the blue, someone comes along and makes you move. And you do not like it.
Hopefully this small mental exercise has given you a glimpse of what it feels like to be in transition. Transition is awkward ... transition is uncomfortable ... transition is hard.
Transition is also a reality. Life progresses, time passes, things change.
The variety of life transitions, experienced everyday, run the gamut. Consider a few situations.
You could be freshly out of college or graduate school, and for first the time in your life, you are not a student. You have to go to work. Be a big person! And it's different. It's not quite as much fun and it's definitely not as structured. You're confused about what your supposed to be doing with your time. You're confused about what you should expect for yourself. It's hard and it's awkward, and it's lonely.
You could be on the verge of or newly entering a marriage. It's exciting and fun ... and hard! At times, it's super awkward. You know that guy, but you don't really know him as a husband, you don't know how to be a wife, and it can be tense and confusing to merge two lives. Additionally, even though you've promised to love this person forever, other relationships have changed, so marriage can seem lonely.
Or, you could be a new momma. Which is not only awkward, but at moments is downright terrifying. There is a helpless, fragile, child who looks to you for every single thing. Who thought you were responsible enough for this job? Y'all, it is hard. It's scary. It's lonely.
These are just some snapshots of transition. Other periods of transition include a move to a new city, beginning a new job, sending children off to college, becoming a grandparent, retirement, loss of spouse, and so on.
Transition is essentially, my life used to look and operate a certain way and it just doesn't anymore. And to be honest, I'm a little lost.
As Christians, during such a time, we look towards God's word for guidance. But there's a problem. Where do you turn? There is no Parable of the Awkward Transition. You flip to your Bible's concordance, looking for the word transition trying to find a relevant passage. It's not there!
So is it over? Are we done? Does God's word have nothing to say to us about transition?
Well clearly no, or this blog post would be quite useless. However, we need to dig a little deeper to figure what is at the heart of the problem. What do all these various types of transition have in common? What is it about transition in general that makes it so difficult?
I would suggest the reason transition is so hard is that the fundamental pillars in our lives, the things that define who we are and how we spend our time, change. There are four such categories: roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources. (I swear the alliteration was not purposeful.)
Roles: In transition, your role, or your definition in life, changes. Consider the question: what do you do? Whatever the answer is, that is what changes during transition. So, you go from being a student to a working person. You are no longer a high power career woman, but a mom, at home, in your pajamas, with your baby. Your role in life changes.
Responsibilities: Along with a role change, comes a change in responsibilities, the work of your hands. As a high school student, your schedule is crafted for you. Suddenly, you find yourself with a thing called free time in college. How do you fill it? Or, you've worked for years at one job, going in every day knowing exactly what is expected of you. You transition careers, and now there is a long list of unfamiliar tasks. The expectations of singleness are different than those of marriage. In transition, what you are required to do, changes.
Relationships: Many times during transition, your relationships change. This is most obvious during a move to a new town. The people you interact with on a daily basis, from your neighbor to your deli girl, change. Similarly, the way you interact with people changes. You get married, and your relationship with your parents changes. In fact, it's Biblical for your relationship with your parents to change. You are to cleave to your husband, but that doesn't mean it's not hard. On the flip side, it is difficult for parents to let their children go. What does it mean to be an in-law? Consider another example. You and your best friend decide to take jobs in different cities. She's still be a trusted, close friend, but it is not the same as living the day-to-day together. This can be lonely and strange.
Resources: Finally, during a move or a time of transition, the resources available to you change. You get lost more. You don't know where to shop. You don't have trusted baby-sitting for your children. You don't know where to take your car when it breaks down. Simple, daily tasks take longer and are more complicated.
In summary, during times of transition, our roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources change. I called these things, the big pillars in our lives. By that I mean, they are the things we rest upon, that fortify us, that help identify us, that keep us understanding our place, that make us feel secure.
Now, small changes are always occurring. Your 4th grade teacher is different than your 5th grade teacher, but the change is not that big of a deal What makes times of transition so dramatic is that a few or all of these major life pillars change drastically at the same time.
When this happens, when all of these things that have been holding you up change, you realize that none of them was ever actually able to keep you safe.
None of them were sustaining. None of them were ultimately reliable.
And this makes you scared. And not only does it make you scared, but you don't have anyone to talk to about it, because you aren't near any of your friends!
So, this is the problem. This is where we are. We are scared, we are lonely, we feel helpless, we feel confused, and honestly, I know personally during times of transition, I introvert and begin to feel a little crazy!
In tomorrow's post, I will open God's word with you and point you towards a passage that will demonstrate that God, the Lord, your Savior, does not change. He is who he is, he always has been, and he always will be. He is good, He is powerful, and He loves you. He is with you during times of transition, sustaining you, guiding you, and ultimately, he is working to make you into the person he desires you to be for your good and His glory.
I do apologize for clearly posing the problem today without offering an in-depth explanation of a solution. I feel as if the post will become too long. So, I will leave you with the Scripture to meditate on for yourself. Come back tomorrow to have it exegeted with the problem of transition in mind. Hopefully, through God's grace, we will be able to work towards faith and experience peace in our crazy hearts!
Translation from NIV 84.
Find Part 2 here.
Lesson Learned: Life is full of change. The LORD does not change.
Suddenly, you feel a tap on your shoulder. "Ma'am (Sir), we apologize for the inconvenience, but we are going to need you to switch seats."
How do you feel?
Slightly annoyed at the very least, but perhaps you feel something more intense, disorientation, irritation, frustration, anger, even embarrassment.
What's funny about a scenario like this is that you haven't even been in that seat for a very long time, and without realizing it, you've already begun to feel comfortable there. Your belongings are in order. You've met your seatmates. You feel ownership.
Then, out of the blue, someone comes along and makes you move. And you do not like it.
Hopefully this small mental exercise has given you a glimpse of what it feels like to be in transition. Transition is awkward ... transition is uncomfortable ... transition is hard.
Transition is also a reality. Life progresses, time passes, things change.
The variety of life transitions, experienced everyday, run the gamut. Consider a few situations.
You could be freshly out of college or graduate school, and for first the time in your life, you are not a student. You have to go to work. Be a big person! And it's different. It's not quite as much fun and it's definitely not as structured. You're confused about what your supposed to be doing with your time. You're confused about what you should expect for yourself. It's hard and it's awkward, and it's lonely.
You could be on the verge of or newly entering a marriage. It's exciting and fun ... and hard! At times, it's super awkward. You know that guy, but you don't really know him as a husband, you don't know how to be a wife, and it can be tense and confusing to merge two lives. Additionally, even though you've promised to love this person forever, other relationships have changed, so marriage can seem lonely.
Or, you could be a new momma. Which is not only awkward, but at moments is downright terrifying. There is a helpless, fragile, child who looks to you for every single thing. Who thought you were responsible enough for this job? Y'all, it is hard. It's scary. It's lonely.
These are just some snapshots of transition. Other periods of transition include a move to a new city, beginning a new job, sending children off to college, becoming a grandparent, retirement, loss of spouse, and so on.
Transition is essentially, my life used to look and operate a certain way and it just doesn't anymore. And to be honest, I'm a little lost.
As Christians, during such a time, we look towards God's word for guidance. But there's a problem. Where do you turn? There is no Parable of the Awkward Transition. You flip to your Bible's concordance, looking for the word transition trying to find a relevant passage. It's not there!
So is it over? Are we done? Does God's word have nothing to say to us about transition?
Well clearly no, or this blog post would be quite useless. However, we need to dig a little deeper to figure what is at the heart of the problem. What do all these various types of transition have in common? What is it about transition in general that makes it so difficult?
I would suggest the reason transition is so hard is that the fundamental pillars in our lives, the things that define who we are and how we spend our time, change. There are four such categories: roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources. (I swear the alliteration was not purposeful.)
Roles: In transition, your role, or your definition in life, changes. Consider the question: what do you do? Whatever the answer is, that is what changes during transition. So, you go from being a student to a working person. You are no longer a high power career woman, but a mom, at home, in your pajamas, with your baby. Your role in life changes.
Responsibilities: Along with a role change, comes a change in responsibilities, the work of your hands. As a high school student, your schedule is crafted for you. Suddenly, you find yourself with a thing called free time in college. How do you fill it? Or, you've worked for years at one job, going in every day knowing exactly what is expected of you. You transition careers, and now there is a long list of unfamiliar tasks. The expectations of singleness are different than those of marriage. In transition, what you are required to do, changes.
Relationships: Many times during transition, your relationships change. This is most obvious during a move to a new town. The people you interact with on a daily basis, from your neighbor to your deli girl, change. Similarly, the way you interact with people changes. You get married, and your relationship with your parents changes. In fact, it's Biblical for your relationship with your parents to change. You are to cleave to your husband, but that doesn't mean it's not hard. On the flip side, it is difficult for parents to let their children go. What does it mean to be an in-law? Consider another example. You and your best friend decide to take jobs in different cities. She's still be a trusted, close friend, but it is not the same as living the day-to-day together. This can be lonely and strange.
Resources: Finally, during a move or a time of transition, the resources available to you change. You get lost more. You don't know where to shop. You don't have trusted baby-sitting for your children. You don't know where to take your car when it breaks down. Simple, daily tasks take longer and are more complicated.
In summary, during times of transition, our roles, responsibilities, relationships, and resources change. I called these things, the big pillars in our lives. By that I mean, they are the things we rest upon, that fortify us, that help identify us, that keep us understanding our place, that make us feel secure.
Now, small changes are always occurring. Your 4th grade teacher is different than your 5th grade teacher, but the change is not that big of a deal What makes times of transition so dramatic is that a few or all of these major life pillars change drastically at the same time.
When this happens, when all of these things that have been holding you up change, you realize that none of them was ever actually able to keep you safe.
None of them were sustaining. None of them were ultimately reliable.
And this makes you scared. And not only does it make you scared, but you don't have anyone to talk to about it, because you aren't near any of your friends!
So, this is the problem. This is where we are. We are scared, we are lonely, we feel helpless, we feel confused, and honestly, I know personally during times of transition, I introvert and begin to feel a little crazy!
In tomorrow's post, I will open God's word with you and point you towards a passage that will demonstrate that God, the Lord, your Savior, does not change. He is who he is, he always has been, and he always will be. He is good, He is powerful, and He loves you. He is with you during times of transition, sustaining you, guiding you, and ultimately, he is working to make you into the person he desires you to be for your good and His glory.
I do apologize for clearly posing the problem today without offering an in-depth explanation of a solution. I feel as if the post will become too long. So, I will leave you with the Scripture to meditate on for yourself. Come back tomorrow to have it exegeted with the problem of transition in mind. Hopefully, through God's grace, we will be able to work towards faith and experience peace in our crazy hearts!
Psalm 16
1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on lips.
5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure,
10 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Translation from NIV 84.
Find Part 2 here.
Lesson Learned: Life is full of change. The LORD does not change.
June 26, 2013
Lesson 78: Lessons from Dancing in the Kitchen
I bet y'all think this post is going to be some sweet parenting tidbit. Something along the lines of, my daughter and I baked cookies while rockin' out to the Tangled soundtrack today. She had a pink ribbon in her hair, and I witnessed a beautiful picture of forgivenss.
No. This is much more self-centered than that.
I love to dance in the kitchen. Not in like the, my husband and I are so cute, one time we sang a song while cooking dinner, and now I'm blogging about it. It's more of a, I turn the music up as loud as I can, most days, put my Ray-bans on (feelin' cool tonight), close my eyes, and forget that anything else is going on in the world outside of Taylor Swift's break-up.
If kids are there, they join in.
If husband is there, he either joins in ... or wishes I would stop, but knows that if he says so I'll sing louder. So, he walks around, looking busy, and occasionally offers me an encouraging smile, hoping that his affirmation will end the party sooner.
In the old house, we listened to Pandora, which allowed for a variety of songs; however, we haven't switched over our internet yet, so for now in the new house, we have resorted to the old trusty ipod.
Oh the ipod. One of our younger seminary classmates commented that he had never seen an ipod as big as ours ... because it is that old!
Our ipod is a walk down memory lane, I'll tell you. It's not on purpose. We turn it on expecting to hear something new, all the while totally forgetting that new songs stopped being uploaded around 2009. We are not runners. (I feel like runners continue to acquire music.)
Anyway, the session usually starts off fun and lighthearted. A lot of jumping is involved, mimicing heartache, and directing intense love ballads towards Mark.
After an hour or so, Mark leaves the kitchen. He is bored and realizes his presence makes no difference one way or the other as far as duration is concerned. When he exits, I lose my main object of affection, and sometimes hit an energy slump. This is when slower, nostalgic tunes begin playing ... taking me back to the beach in Ireland, a train in Switzerland, or a mountain in China.
You see, the reason Mark and I loaded the ipod with music was to enable conversation breaks during much needed quiet times on adventures around the world.
When I hear, Counting Crows, Holiday in Spain, I think about a beach trip we took with 20 friends to Malaga, southern Spain, in 2005.
When I hear Bebo Norman, I Will Lift My Eyes, I think of Tiger Leaping Gorge on the western side of China, where I hiked one of the most beautiful places in this world!
When I hear, Joy to the World by Bebo Norman, not always, but sometimes I think about walking the streets of Lugano, pregnant with Samara, not fully comprehending that there is a child in my womb, but super emotional and excited about motherhood at the same time.
Transition.
Since we've moved, I have been much more stressed about decorating our home then ever before. As I mentioned, the house is beautiful on its own, and I wonder if part of my anxiety (if you can call it that) is this idea that I need to do the house justice.
However, tonight, after a very characteristic dance party in the kitchen while Mark made 40 hamburgers for our youth group's summer kick-off dinner, I had a deeper thought connecting the old ipod and the disappointment (?) of this new house.
Mark finally has a paying job, which means I finally have some money to put towards our house. After four years of scouring magazines and websites, I knew exactly what I wanted to purchase and from where. As beautiful items have appeared on my doorstep, the contentment of finally getting the house I've always wanted has remained far off.
I haven't been able to decide if it's because I still need more (the italics here indicate the ridiculousness of this statement), or if it's because something deeper is going on.
Tonight ... with the dancing ... and the ipod full of nostalgic songs, I had a thought. I was listening to all these songs that remind me of traveling, and like they always do, they ignited this little spark in my heart that loves to travel, move, experience, and see. It's this part of me that relishes the freedom of living out of a backpack and not quite knowing where the day's adventure will lead.
It's this part of me that I gave up when I became a mom.
Now, I know that in the blogging world, mom's are not supposed to admit that life was in fact more fun before kids. We are supposed to be thoroughly tickled by the tender moments, the sweet touches, the funny sayings, and the peace of knowing we are spending our time in the most important way possible.
And all of that is true. Being a mom is tender, sweet, funny, fulfilling ... and fun.
But let's be honest, it is not the same kind of fun.
I never cared about my house until I became a mom. In fact, my newfound obsession with all things decorating has continually stumped my husband over these past four years.
Tonight, with these songs in my mind, it all became frighteningly clear. I wonder ...
Because I feel like I no longer go anywhere, do I try to decorate my home in such a way that demonstrates that I've been somewhere?
Is my home a showpiece that is meant to say, "No really! I've done things with my life ... things that do not involve diapers and sippy cups. I have seen the world. I am really interesting."
Along slightly different lines, do I put such thought into creating our home in order to give myself the feeling that when I am home, I am somewhere!
I wonder?
Y'all if this is true and not some crazy post-dance frenzy, a whole host of idols and misguided notions have been exposed in my heart. Blahhh, yuck, how terrible!
My guess is that this is part of the thought process. (The other part could simply be that I like pretty, functional, interesting spaces.)
A while back, I wrote a post about contentment. When I reread that post, I still believe that everything I said is true. Yet even while it is true, some of what I wrote today is true as well.
When you become a parent, you actually do give up a lot. There is no arguing that you gain a ton, but it is untrue to act as if what you gain merely replaces what you sacrifice. A loss is involved.
My conclusion for now and my hope for my heart is the reality that sanctification is a process. As the Lord makes us more like his son, he cracks away at our selfishness, pride, self-centeredness, desire to please ourselves, and all the rest of our nasty recurring sins ... and he changes us, fashions us, and molds us, into a beautiful, new, God-honoring person. Clearly, he still has work to do in my heart.
It is frustrating ... you know, to not be perfect already. But there is grace, and there is a gracious one.
And his plan is perfect.
And because of what his son accomplished on the cross, he rejoices over me with singing and dancing, on my good days and my bad days.
And that is a wonderful thing.
Lesson Learned: The Lord is long-suffering. He loves us perfectly throughout the various seasons of life. His love endures forever.
No. This is much more self-centered than that.
I love to dance in the kitchen. Not in like the, my husband and I are so cute, one time we sang a song while cooking dinner, and now I'm blogging about it. It's more of a, I turn the music up as loud as I can, most days, put my Ray-bans on (feelin' cool tonight), close my eyes, and forget that anything else is going on in the world outside of Taylor Swift's break-up.
If kids are there, they join in.
If husband is there, he either joins in ... or wishes I would stop, but knows that if he says so I'll sing louder. So, he walks around, looking busy, and occasionally offers me an encouraging smile, hoping that his affirmation will end the party sooner.
In the old house, we listened to Pandora, which allowed for a variety of songs; however, we haven't switched over our internet yet, so for now in the new house, we have resorted to the old trusty ipod.
Oh the ipod. One of our younger seminary classmates commented that he had never seen an ipod as big as ours ... because it is that old!
Our ipod is a walk down memory lane, I'll tell you. It's not on purpose. We turn it on expecting to hear something new, all the while totally forgetting that new songs stopped being uploaded around 2009. We are not runners. (I feel like runners continue to acquire music.)
Anyway, the session usually starts off fun and lighthearted. A lot of jumping is involved, mimicing heartache, and directing intense love ballads towards Mark.
After an hour or so, Mark leaves the kitchen. He is bored and realizes his presence makes no difference one way or the other as far as duration is concerned. When he exits, I lose my main object of affection, and sometimes hit an energy slump. This is when slower, nostalgic tunes begin playing ... taking me back to the beach in Ireland, a train in Switzerland, or a mountain in China.
You see, the reason Mark and I loaded the ipod with music was to enable conversation breaks during much needed quiet times on adventures around the world.
When I hear, Counting Crows, Holiday in Spain, I think about a beach trip we took with 20 friends to Malaga, southern Spain, in 2005.
When I hear Bebo Norman, I Will Lift My Eyes, I think of Tiger Leaping Gorge on the western side of China, where I hiked one of the most beautiful places in this world!
When I hear, Joy to the World by Bebo Norman, not always, but sometimes I think about walking the streets of Lugano, pregnant with Samara, not fully comprehending that there is a child in my womb, but super emotional and excited about motherhood at the same time.
Transition.
Since we've moved, I have been much more stressed about decorating our home then ever before. As I mentioned, the house is beautiful on its own, and I wonder if part of my anxiety (if you can call it that) is this idea that I need to do the house justice.
However, tonight, after a very characteristic dance party in the kitchen while Mark made 40 hamburgers for our youth group's summer kick-off dinner, I had a deeper thought connecting the old ipod and the disappointment (?) of this new house.
Mark finally has a paying job, which means I finally have some money to put towards our house. After four years of scouring magazines and websites, I knew exactly what I wanted to purchase and from where. As beautiful items have appeared on my doorstep, the contentment of finally getting the house I've always wanted has remained far off.
I haven't been able to decide if it's because I still need more (the italics here indicate the ridiculousness of this statement), or if it's because something deeper is going on.
Tonight ... with the dancing ... and the ipod full of nostalgic songs, I had a thought. I was listening to all these songs that remind me of traveling, and like they always do, they ignited this little spark in my heart that loves to travel, move, experience, and see. It's this part of me that relishes the freedom of living out of a backpack and not quite knowing where the day's adventure will lead.
It's this part of me that I gave up when I became a mom.
Now, I know that in the blogging world, mom's are not supposed to admit that life was in fact more fun before kids. We are supposed to be thoroughly tickled by the tender moments, the sweet touches, the funny sayings, and the peace of knowing we are spending our time in the most important way possible.
And all of that is true. Being a mom is tender, sweet, funny, fulfilling ... and fun.
But let's be honest, it is not the same kind of fun.
I never cared about my house until I became a mom. In fact, my newfound obsession with all things decorating has continually stumped my husband over these past four years.
Tonight, with these songs in my mind, it all became frighteningly clear. I wonder ...
Because I feel like I no longer go anywhere, do I try to decorate my home in such a way that demonstrates that I've been somewhere?
Is my home a showpiece that is meant to say, "No really! I've done things with my life ... things that do not involve diapers and sippy cups. I have seen the world. I am really interesting."
Along slightly different lines, do I put such thought into creating our home in order to give myself the feeling that when I am home, I am somewhere!
I wonder?
Y'all if this is true and not some crazy post-dance frenzy, a whole host of idols and misguided notions have been exposed in my heart. Blahhh, yuck, how terrible!
My guess is that this is part of the thought process. (The other part could simply be that I like pretty, functional, interesting spaces.)
A while back, I wrote a post about contentment. When I reread that post, I still believe that everything I said is true. Yet even while it is true, some of what I wrote today is true as well.
When you become a parent, you actually do give up a lot. There is no arguing that you gain a ton, but it is untrue to act as if what you gain merely replaces what you sacrifice. A loss is involved.
My conclusion for now and my hope for my heart is the reality that sanctification is a process. As the Lord makes us more like his son, he cracks away at our selfishness, pride, self-centeredness, desire to please ourselves, and all the rest of our nasty recurring sins ... and he changes us, fashions us, and molds us, into a beautiful, new, God-honoring person. Clearly, he still has work to do in my heart.
It is frustrating ... you know, to not be perfect already. But there is grace, and there is a gracious one.
And his plan is perfect.
And because of what his son accomplished on the cross, he rejoices over me with singing and dancing, on my good days and my bad days.
And that is a wonderful thing.
Lesson Learned: The Lord is long-suffering. He loves us perfectly throughout the various seasons of life. His love endures forever.
June 08, 2013
Lesson 75: House Highlight One
Two days after graduation we moved.
We used to live here.
Now we live here.
You may recognize this new house from my terribly emotional goodbye posts to the best neighbors in the world. We mourned their loss for a year ... but, well, it's been long enough and now we live in their old house!
We literally picked up our stuff and moved it across the yard. No real packing was involved, just some loading up of clothes baskets followed by immediate emptying.
This is the third house Mark and I have occupied during our almost five years of marriage. (We also lived in a Swiss hostel for four months and in my childhood bedroom for six.)
From the start, I have loved to decorate our home! My daily thought process has typically gone something like this. "This room needs better lighting. Get out of bed, Katherine. I am so glad I bought this rug. It's super bright. Brush teeth. Baby's crying. Man, I love Hudson's nursery. The blue is perfect. Banana for baby. The furniture in this kitchen nook is not positioned correctly. I need to read for seminary. Maybe I'll just see if there are any sales at Ballard first." And on and on.
The first day after Mark and I finished seminary, I let out a sigh of relief and said, "I can finally decorate in peace." (As if two children have no bearing on my time.)
This new house is by far the biggest we've ever lived in, and it has the nicest bones. Most of the downstairs has its original hard wood flooring, which is stained a beautiful dark brown color. There is molding all around the ceiling and the windows are framed nicely. Every wall is painted a dark beige (which would not be my color of choice), that we are learning to work with it.
Though it's only been two weeks, much of the house is in order already, and I really like the way most of it looks. All this redecorating (and actually liking the product) has gotten me reminiscing about our past houses. From the start, I never wanted a Target / Ikea looking house. Both of these stores have actually improved in the past few years, but when I first started decorating, they were so generic! My greatest fear was a boring, Target house. (No offense if you like Target. To each his own.)
Thus, I tried to be creative, interesting, colorful, and so on.
As a result, I have done some really weird things to get the look I wanted at a price I could afford! Mark can attest.
I've decided to start a weekly series called "House Highlight" in which I focus on some small aspect of one of the homes we've lived in, including the current one. Some will be highlights which I consider great triumphs, strokes of genius, if you will. Others, well, will just be weird, cautionary tales, ideas for you to steer clear of.
I think it's going to be fun.
Lesson Learned: When it comes to decorating, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!
We used to live here.
Now we live here.
We literally picked up our stuff and moved it across the yard. No real packing was involved, just some loading up of clothes baskets followed by immediate emptying.
This is the third house Mark and I have occupied during our almost five years of marriage. (We also lived in a Swiss hostel for four months and in my childhood bedroom for six.)
From the start, I have loved to decorate our home! My daily thought process has typically gone something like this. "This room needs better lighting. Get out of bed, Katherine. I am so glad I bought this rug. It's super bright. Brush teeth. Baby's crying. Man, I love Hudson's nursery. The blue is perfect. Banana for baby. The furniture in this kitchen nook is not positioned correctly. I need to read for seminary. Maybe I'll just see if there are any sales at Ballard first." And on and on.
The first day after Mark and I finished seminary, I let out a sigh of relief and said, "I can finally decorate in peace." (As if two children have no bearing on my time.)
This new house is by far the biggest we've ever lived in, and it has the nicest bones. Most of the downstairs has its original hard wood flooring, which is stained a beautiful dark brown color. There is molding all around the ceiling and the windows are framed nicely. Every wall is painted a dark beige (which would not be my color of choice), that we are learning to work with it.
Though it's only been two weeks, much of the house is in order already, and I really like the way most of it looks. All this redecorating (and actually liking the product) has gotten me reminiscing about our past houses. From the start, I never wanted a Target / Ikea looking house. Both of these stores have actually improved in the past few years, but when I first started decorating, they were so generic! My greatest fear was a boring, Target house. (No offense if you like Target. To each his own.)
Thus, I tried to be creative, interesting, colorful, and so on.
As a result, I have done some really weird things to get the look I wanted at a price I could afford! Mark can attest.
I've decided to start a weekly series called "House Highlight" in which I focus on some small aspect of one of the homes we've lived in, including the current one. Some will be highlights which I consider great triumphs, strokes of genius, if you will. Others, well, will just be weird, cautionary tales, ideas for you to steer clear of.
I think it's going to be fun.
Lesson Learned: When it comes to decorating, if at first you don't succeed, try, try, again!
November 02, 2012
Lesson 53: Content with Today
I used to be a person who traveled.
A lot.
Within the years of 2005 - 2009, I was not once within the continental United States on March 10.
2005 - Italy / Greece
2006 - Panama
2007 - China
2008 - Ireland
2009 - Switzerland
Of these five years, I spent a total of two overseas.
I have visited 27 countries, and have spent more than a month in China, Afghanistan, Switzerland, and Ireland.
I first kissed my husband in Paris.
He proposed to me in Dublin.
After we got married, we spent four months in Switzerland.
Occasionally, I look at our pictures and think, "wow, our life used to be cool."
This morning, I took care of five poop-covered bottoms before 12:30, all belonging to people other than myself.
A lot.
Within the years of 2005 - 2009, I was not once within the continental United States on March 10.
2005 - Italy / Greece
2006 - Panama
2007 - China
2008 - Ireland
2009 - Switzerland
Of these five years, I spent a total of two overseas.
I have visited 27 countries, and have spent more than a month in China, Afghanistan, Switzerland, and Ireland.
I first kissed my husband in Paris.
He proposed to me in Dublin.
After we got married, we spent four months in Switzerland.
Occasionally, I look at our pictures and think, "wow, our life used to be cool."
This morning, I took care of five poop-covered bottoms before 12:30, all belonging to people other than myself.
October 06, 2012
Lesson 48: The Number 48 (A Week of Numbers)
Football season has begun.
Believe or not, I, Katherine Ashbaugh, voted "Most Spirited" in the Class of 2002 for having missed only one game in all four years of high school, have yet to watch a single one this year.
(Well, unless you count talking non-stop during a Clemson one a few weeks ago. I'd tell you who they were playing, but I don't actually know.)
The reason? It could be in part because we don't have a television. It could be that our neighbors moved, and they did have a television and we watched games there. Honestly though, it's mostly because I no longer really care.
Ya'll, I've already come out to those closest to me, so I might as well come out to you as well. I am over football!
August 31, 2012
Lesson 42: The Van Vlake's ... and The Sovereignty of God (Van Vlake Series)
As you know, Mark and I are in seminary at RTS in Charlotte, and as you know, our dear friends and neighbors have recently moved.
What you may not know is that we met the Van Vlake's at RTS in Charlotte. Marcus was in both Mark and my classes, and Shelly and I attended women's functions together. For a year and half, Marucs was our classmate.
It was at RTS that Marcus recruited Mark to move to Clover. Now, I don't want to say that what Marcus wants, Marcus gets, but ... !!! He would say it was all according to God's will.
We would agree.
Growing our friendship with this family has renewed our sense of perspective as far as seminary is concerned. Though Marcus began as our classmate, in the past year we have seen him graduate with his MDiv, study for and pass all his ordination exams, and become ordained as a minister of the gospel in the PCA. Praise God!
A week ago, he baptized Hudson.
What you may not know is that we met the Van Vlake's at RTS in Charlotte. Marcus was in both Mark and my classes, and Shelly and I attended women's functions together. For a year and half, Marucs was our classmate.
It was at RTS that Marcus recruited Mark to move to Clover. Now, I don't want to say that what Marcus wants, Marcus gets, but ... !!! He would say it was all according to God's will.
We would agree.
Growing our friendship with this family has renewed our sense of perspective as far as seminary is concerned. Though Marcus began as our classmate, in the past year we have seen him graduate with his MDiv, study for and pass all his ordination exams, and become ordained as a minister of the gospel in the PCA. Praise God!
A week ago, he baptized Hudson.
August 29, 2012
Lesson 41: Samara's Best Friend (Van Vlake Series)
Can you picture anything cuter than two little girls, who know six words apiece, hollering back and forth to one another from their front porches in nothing but their diapers?
Well, start with that, but then imagine when the excitement becomes too much that they have no choice but to flee the porches and meet in the middle of the yard to squeal and poke each others' faces a while.
Such was the beginning of the friendship of Samara and Rosie.
Well, start with that, but then imagine when the excitement becomes too much that they have no choice but to flee the porches and meet in the middle of the yard to squeal and poke each others' faces a while.
Such was the beginning of the friendship of Samara and Rosie.
August 26, 2012
Lesson 38: Paradise Lost - Introducing the "Van Vlake Series"
"Turns out not where but who you're with that really matters." Dave Matthews Band
When I look out my front porch, this is what I see.
If I turn slightly to the left, I see this ... the home of the world's best neighbors.
Or it was ...
until they moved.
When I look out my front porch, this is what I see.
If I turn slightly to the left, I see this ... the home of the world's best neighbors.
Or it was ...
until they moved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
