moments

By -

Staring into my cousin’s serious and excited eyes as we sipped pre-church coffee and he told me of the goodness of God and his recent visit to Borscheim’s.

Being picked up, spun around, and kissed on the cheek by this same cousin out of pure delight after he put a ring on his woman just a week later.

Having clothes-optional tea time with my roommate.

2 am brain farts with my credit card and the Lincoln Marathon website that remove all possibility of sleeping in next semester.

Long phone calls with the cutest ginger I know named Alyssa in my practice room that consist of story after story of God’s hand in our lives.

Taking 30-minute power naps at 12:30 am on my practice room floor.

Getting a long, grandpa-like hug from my professor after I played some Christmas hymns for a chapel.

Wearing pants.

Turning 3 am showers into prayer times for dear people in my life.

Hugging Sarah after our SIXTH annual Christmas party, and acknowledging all the memories it represented.

Taping streamers and balloons all over the room at 2 am to celebrate the roommate’s birthday.

& sharing a softly-lit pre-final breakfast over coffee and cinnamon rolls as we sat on pillows and ate on a whicker box in the middle of the room.

I have been waiting to blog again because I only like blogging when I come to grand revelations or something big happens. We love the magnificent moments where “God shows up” and we have great stories to tell to our Christian friends to make them second-guess their own walks with the Lord because they haven’t had a big story in awhile. But I’m finding more joy and treasures in the small, neutral moments. In a sink full of dirty mugs from all the finals-induced coffee. In sporadic duets with the roommate. Even in not-so-okay things like late-night music history cramming or a day spent in bed with the flu when all I want is to be at home and not at Grace. I’m learning to find beauty in these things, learning that God is so great that His majesty is hinted throughout the most mundane of moments. There is a thrill to seeking His fingerprints on every situation, and I am so grateful for the treasure of small happenings in my life that mean little to anyone else but are of great value to my heart.

Well friends, it’s time to take one last pop of Ibuprofen and hope I’m well enough to move home without fainting or collapsing (I finally don’t need a 60-second recovery each time I move…progress). Honestly, I would rather die moving out than stay one more night here.

Wish me luck.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

limited

By -
It's the end of June, and our windows are open. After a string of endless rainy days, sopping and muddy, the sun--our knight in shining armor--emerged without its normal end-of-June heat. And so, the windows are open. My daughter has been asleep for awhile, my husband is riding his bike through the glory of a Minnesota summer's evening, and I sit listening to the clock tick, the birds talk, the cars hum. The background noises of life which I usually drown out with music or a podcast or a babbling toddler demand their attention now, greedy backup singers stealing their solos. Last night I spent time with some newer ladies in my life, none of which had kids. I was relieved to find myself able to relate to childless peers as most of my current friends have children who tend to dominate our conversations. We talked of refugees and politics and international students in Mankato. We talked of life plans and I actually enjoyed not lamenting the current 2-1 nap transition ...
Read more
By -
It’s Leap Day. I was excited for today. I love odd, random, extra things. I woke up energized and determined and ready. I woke up and wrote in my journal, “God, I want today to be purposeful and intentional. It’s Leap Day! This date only happens once every four years, let’s make it count. Let’s make it good.” So I leaped out of bed (get it) and was READY for my day. So ready that I had my favorite breakfast and even worked out and showered before my day started. Today is going to rock! … So, I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the fact that my poor water bottle is still MIA, or that I had to purchase my 3 rd key card of the semester because mine was lost, that I left my purse in my room and had no chapstick all day, or that after I purchased my new key card, I was texted by the mom I babysit for, saying she found it. Or maybe it was just that it was so windy. And wind makes me want to blow up an orphanage. I don’t know WHAT it was. But today was off. Like, ...
Read more

pointless stories that falsely sound symbolic

By -
Image
I got caught between Summer and Fall's loud argument on my run today, as the summer sun singed my skin and the fall breeze tousled my hair. Summer is like that crazy aunt who won't leave when the party is clearly over. And the entire universe is getting sick of pleasantries and manners. Fall is about to take its predecessor's spotlight, and I was running through the midst of the awkward and marvelous conversation. And I don't like confrontation, but something about saying one final good-bye to heat and sweat, while simultaneously greeting the fall's cool temperatures was nothing like the usual disagreements I generally ignore. So I ran through the seasons' quarrel and John Piper was getting passionate. I smiled as the pain my stomach from the numerous potato chips I regretfully consumed the night before while camping subsided. I smiled because my miles to go were dwindling. I smiled because Fall was clearly winning this dispute I was caught between. I smiled ...
Read more