I've Got Sunshine

I feel like it's been ages since I last posted anything.  Life came fast, I guess.  These last few weeks have been so amazing.  Long walks in the park, several daily cups of coffee (such a vice...), exploration with new music, and good times with new friends--I'm so beyond blessed.

I decided to get out of my comfort zone recently, and, true to my nature, I made sure to learn a few lessons.

1.  Hand holding is a simple joy.  Indulge when you can.
It's simple, innocent, and can invoke preteen-worthy giddiness in even the most reserved individual.  Even if you know it will never evolve into anything; even if it's not the person you've held hands with in the past; even if [insert whatever reason you wish], it's still nice to just know that for a few moments of your life someone else wanted to be closer than an inch away from you.  All right, enough cheesiness.

2.  Take your time.
I asked a friend for some of the best advice he could give me.  He thought for a second and calmly stated, "Take your time.  In everything."  Yeah, time is a precious thing, and it's for that very reason that we should take care to make sure we're using it to do something worthwhile.

3.  Encourage others.
Being nice to folks is one thing; taking an extra step and giving them a reason to love themselves is another.  We need it.  Every last one of us.  We all need some sense of pride (not a heavy dose, but enough to counter the daily bout of low self-esteem).  So tell someone that they've done something good.  Let them know that they're a blessing.  Show someone how much they've changed your life.  I promise, it's well worth it.

4.  Help when you can.
Summer, according to my sister, is the time to get out of school and embrace at least three months of "me time."  (Oh, how I love her!)  And while I will definitely agree that there is a time and place for a person to take a step out of his or her daily life and take time for his or herself, at some point, we've got to deny our selfish intentions and do something for someone else.  Whether it's volunteering, or a random act of kindness, it's vital.

5.  Don't deceive yourself.  
As a child, I had an imagination that could have put the Rugrats (please tell me you remember that show!) to shame.  Even now, I find myself making up elaborate stories about how my life may turn out, but there are some of these stories that I struggle to fight off.  I want things to be better than they really are, and so I turn a blind eye to all of the flaws of a situation.  This, however, will set anyone up for failure.  Take things for face value.  If you meet someone, enjoy their company, but don't convince yourself that there is a connection there when there really isn't.  When you reflect on who you are, don't think of yourself as any better than you really are.

6.  Don't you dare set your future in stone.  
You want to be married?  That's great!  You want a couple of youngsters?  Awesome!  You aspire to have one particular job?  Nice!  Aspirations and hopes are always good.  Life, however, seems to be a tiny bit different from what we plan.  Yes, plans are good in certain areas, but when you tie yourself down to a specific idea, and refuse to venture from that path, you are practically looking at God and saying, "Yeah...Lord, I understand that You're mighty and all, and that you pretty much have everything worked out, but I think that this particular thing right here is what I should really be going after, and consulting You about it is not exactly in my agenda.  Instead, I think it would be best if You conformed to Your plan for my life to match my idea.  K Thanks. Bye."  I'm not typing this as an attack on anyone reading this, but as a piece of wisdom that I've been hit hard with recently.  

Trust me, there are several more things that I could write, but I think six will suffice for today.  Enjoy the day, praise God for your blessings, and try something new if you get the chance.

The Dog Days

I think I have a new favorite season.  Though the greater-than-100-degree heat is a bit rough at times, I cannot deny the absolute bliss that comes with feeling sunlight on my skin and the sweet taste of a ripe watermelon.  Now, I am not under the impression that I am the most interesting person on earth, but I can say without a doubt that I wouldn't trade my life for anything.  For a lack of better phrasing for the joy of the last few weeks, I took pictures.

[There is something absolutely glorious about a night of fireworks]

[I finally got to try my hand at a Chinese tea egg!]

[I've actually been working on this for a while, but I finally finished]

[Oreo Cake Balls made with my absolutely beautiful sister, Kelsey]

[New dog, Repo, and my dad]

[Explore-driving leads to some of the absolute most beautiful scenery I've ever witnessed]

God is so good.  

Time To Go

Leave it to a garage sale's cleaning to find a blog post idea

Time is like one of those double edged swords.  On one hand, it's the doctor with the only cure.  It smooths over what we mess up, and it eases the ache of whatever wound has been inflicted.  On the other hand, it changes people.  It twists and skews our views and makes the greatest days of your life become distant and blurred memories.  Time picks no favorites, and no one is immune.

A friend of mine from high school ran away to another state with her boyfriend this past week.  Had you known her a few years back, you never would have guessed that this would happen.  Without warning, after she came home from college, she packed up one night while her mom was getting her hair done, and when she got home, my friend had all of her belongings in boxes, with her boyfriend waiting with a U-Haul across the street.  We still don't know where my friend went.  All I know is she's gone.

Hold that thought.

I visited my grandfather in the nursing home today.  Reader, there's a teensy bit of history you should know before I keep typing:  my grandfather has had nearly nothing to do with me for the vast majority of my life.  It doesn't bother me anymore, and I no longer resent him for it.  If there's one thing I've learned in my short life it's that we are not victims of circumstances, and to act as though we are makes us victims of ourselves.  Last summer, after he suffered an aneurysm and a stroke, he was placed in a nursing home, where I finally realized that it was my choice whether to be a part of his life or not.  Refusal was not an option.    I saw him more last summer than ever before in my life, and I can say without a doubt that it was one of the best parts of the season.  When I left for college, however, despite promises to visit whenever I got the chance, seeing my grandfather fell lower and lower on my list of priorities.  Luckily for me, he seemed to be pretty forgiving of my absence when I walked in his room today.

When I did see him as a child, he was always a fairly stern man, and the stories my dad has told me did him no favors in the likability department.  Regardless, when I walked in his room today, he was asleep.  After he stirred, I asked if he minded if I visited with him for a few minutes, and almost immediately, he brightened up and nodded.  Within a quarter of an hour, he was crying.  Don't think that I made him cry, Reader, because I can readily assure you that the only thing I did was ask him a question about his life.  Whatever the question was, it made him remember something, and some memory caused him to be so overcome with emotions that he cried.  It was such a change from the hard man I met so many years ago, and what surprised me even more was that it broke my heart to see him so hurt.  Not too long ago, I would have paid to see him suffer (I do not say that with pride, but honesty).  Now, I wanted nothing more than to make him smile.

Here we were--two people who had changed due to nothing more than time and the circumstances brought with it--each with scars of years past and pictures to say it happened.  Time allowed my grandfather to be put in a nursing home, and time allowed my friend to run off to some unknown place.

We can't escape the ticking seconds which engulf us.  Time changes us.  Time changes our world.  Time changes our perspectives, our ideas, our goals, our aspirations, our passions.  It does not dictate what these changes may ensue.  That part is up to us.
Reader, will you let the changes be for the good?  Will you allow the changes to make a difference?  We can't always control what happens to us, and that's all right.  We're not supposed to.  We can control how we react to our circumstances, and what comes of them.

Five Signs of Hope

Hello, July.  It's been far too long.

So, Reader, I'm not sure if you even give credit to these little life lessons, but here they are--my five for the week:

1.  Do what makes you happy, but know your limits.
Yeah, that's right.  So if cooking is your thing, do it!  But when you end up baking five dozen cookies, steaming more veggies than your family could ever shovel down, and realizing that you just stuck the past seven hours of your life in the oven, then it may be time for you to take a step back from the stove and try to think of the last time you sent a text, or received a call, or were acknowledged for existing... (Proverbs 25:27)


2.  You can't make everyone happy.  
It's simply not going to happen.  Now, I'm not advising anyone to go out and cast the cares of others to the wind, but beating yourself up because you cannot do everything for everyone else is simply ridiculous.  My mother has told me plenty of times, "the best way to please others is to please God."  (Galations 1:10).

3.  Accept yourself.  
In high school, I was among the palest girls in my class.  My wardrobe was less-than glamorous.  Words were constantly failing me, and awkward could have substituted as my middle name.  Needless to say, I was not exactly content with who I was.  Fast forward a year later:  I'm still pale.  Name-brand clothes have yet to be placed in my closet.  My mind still goes blank when I'm searching for the right things to say, and to this day, I'm a walking awkward moment.  The difference?  I'm all right with it now, and I have to admit, life is much more enjoyable that way.  (Psalm 139:14)  However...

4.  If there's something you need to change, then change.  
In 2 Kings, immediately when he heard the Book of the Law, King Josiah tore his clothes and instituted major changes in Judah when he realized just how far away from God's commands that the nation had become.  He didn't wait.  There was no, "I'll take care of this in a week, and this in a month, because I'm just so swamped with being the king and all right now."  No--he saw what needed to be done, and he took steps to correct a nation.  What keeps us from doing the same? (2 Kings 22).


5.  Take a chance.
No matter how bad you've been hurt, or how sure you are that something is not going to turn out exactly as you wish it would, take a chance.  Go on a date.  Apply for a job.  Say yes to something slightly outrageous (but don't get too crazy).  Talk to someone about something you normally wouldn't.  Try something new, and see just how far the Lord takes you.  (Matthew 19:26).