To my best friend since day one, to my number one fan, and warmest hug,
To the woman who is never too busy to talk to me, even though she's heard my story a million times. To the one who hugs me so tight at the airport when I come home I tear up; to the biggest smile I ever see. To the one who taught me the importance of coming home, but that it's okay to leave to follow my dreams. To the woman who never stops believing in me, the one who always chooses to see the best in me, even when I can't see it myself. To the woman who always knows what I need to hear to make me feel better, but also know when I may need to hear the harsher truth. To the one who has always been ready to hop in the car, go to Starbucks and drive around with me when I need a safe space to process my feelings. To the one who taught me how to be a good listener. To the woman who told me, "it's okay to cry," when I tried too hard to be strong. The one who reminds me my feelings are real, and it's important to feel them. To the woman who has shown me what love is. The one who always makes time for me, and invests her life in me. The one who makes sure I feel loved, and special, and worthy. The one who has made home my favorite place to be. To the one who knows how I take my coffee, and the foods I refuse to touch. To the one who always knows what to get me for my birthday, even when I don't ask. To the one who knows me better than I know myself sometimes. To the woman who has made me who I am. The one who has shown me how to smile through the sadness, and love through the hurt. The one who has been through all the heartbreaks and the joys, the friendships and the falling aparts, the nights when my heart was too heavy to move, and the days my dreams have come true. To the one who has taught me how to keep my heart open, everytime I was ready to close it off. To the woman who always supports my dreams, who always pushes me to dream a little bigger, aim a little higher, and always believes I can do it. To my mom - Thank you, for everything. I couldn't do it without you. I love you.
0 Comments
"Would things be easier if there was a right way? Honey, there is no right way. " To quote Hozier, "there's an art to life's distractions." Make time for what makes your soul happy. Make time for what refreshes you. Make time for things, Make time for activities. Make time for people. Find people who make you laugh. The ones who bring you joy. The ones who make you happy to be alive. Find the people that you miss. Find the ones you want to waste your afternoons with. Find the ones you want to listen to music with. Or the ones you want to watch movies and eat snacks with. Find the people that make you feel less alone, and find the things that bring your heart joy. And make time for them. It is worth it. It will always be worth it. When life gets overwhelming, who do you want to call? Call them. When you've had a long day, who is it you want to be with? Go to them. When you're at work daydreaming, what is it you're thinking about? Do it. We all have things in our lives worth working for. We have goals and dreams. We have careers and ambitions. But we also know there's something else out there - something that brings our soul peace. And our careers aren't bad. Heck, we probably like them at least somedays. But it's not the same. When you think of your perfect Saturday, what are you doing? We have families and friends. We have partners and loved ones. We have those we love having conversations with, those we love lying next to, those we love having adventures with. Sometimes, they're all the same person. When you think of your perfect Saturday, who are you with? We need to fill our lives with perfect Saturdays. We need them on the weekends, we need them on Tuesdays, we need them on Mondays, we need them often. Even if it's just in moments. Even if it's taking 30 minutes to read a chapter of your new book. Or an hour to enjoy a ncie run outside. Or a phone call. Or a movie. Or a nap. Let's find our Saturdays, and intentionally make time for them. We all need a few more hours in bookstores, or drinking coffee with friends, or getting some fresh air. We all need more hand holding, and belly laughs. We need to fill our lives with perfect Saturdays. And we need to share them. Our souls are at peace when our loved ones souls are at peace. So let's promise to make time for them whenever we can. Let's promise to do the things that renew you. Let's promise to spend time with those who bring us life. And let's promise to be that person to others. Let's be Saturdays to others, not Wednesdays, and certainly not Mondays. Life is already full of Mondays without us being them too. Because it's tough out there. We could all use a few more Saturdays. Yes, it's 90 degrees outside at the end of September. Yes, it is unusually hot. Yes, I'm ready for cooler weather too.
Glad we got that out of the way. It's no secret it's hot outside. Even if you never left AC to know this, you would know just by the sheer number of people talking about it. In fact, it seems like it's all anyone is talking about lately. And don't get me wrong, I want to drink coffee, wear a sweater and boots, and bundle up by a bonfire as much as the next person, but I really think we need to find something new to talk about. Sitting here, eating a biscuit with some apple butter I just got at the apple orchard, drinking some hot tea thinking about... how much I complain. Why is it that we can never be happy? Things could be going 99% right in our lives, and we would still fixate on that 1% that's wrong. And hey, guilty as charged. I am the queen of this. But I don't want to be. When I pictured how this year would go for me, it was a little different than the way it looks right now. And I can stop there. I can think about this for days, weeks, even. And I can feel sorry for myself because I didn't get everything that I want. Or I can sit here and say, yeah, maybe not everything in my life is perfect, but overall, things are looking pretty good. I'm making good connections, I'm doing well in my classes, I'm getting to experience things I never thought I would. I got to go home this weekend to see my family, and my heart jumped for joy. I had been counting down the days, at times unable to sleep out of excitement. To say I can get a bit homesick would be an understatement. And I get home, and I'm picking apples, one of my favorite activities in the world, and suddenly I am overcome by sadness. Because I have to leave again. I got to see one of my best friends and have a great time with her, but saying goodbye was so hard it almost made me forget how happy I just was. All of this to say, sometimes our complaints are valid. Sometimes our hearts ache. Sometimes we feel a little hopeless, or overwhelmed, or alone. That's real. That's so so real. The problem becomes when we fixate on it. Whether it be how much you're ready for a cool breeze or how much your soul longs for something you can't have quite yet - we are letting what we don't have take away our attention from all that we do have and rob us of our joy. And it's time we put an end to it. So, I invite you to enter a season of gratitude with me. I wish I could say I knew just how to do this. I wish I could say it's simple. But I don't and it's not. And I definitely can't tell you what your season of gratitude looks like, I don't know your heart - only you can figure that out. And I'll figure mine out. What tends to rob me of my joy is the fact that I have some trouble being patient with God. When I want something I want it now, and I need it now, and if I don't get it now then we are going to have some trouble. But that's not how God works. Sometimes he says wait. Always he says, "Trust Me." "And we know that in all ways God works for the good of those who love Him." Romans 8:28 Empowered by this truth, I am entering my season of gratitude full of trust. And I am going to show it by keeping a log of all the things I am grateful for - one a day. Today, it's the fact that I have a family and home to miss. How will you enter your season of gratitude? What will it look like for you? We have 3 months exactly until Christmas, let's teach our hearts to wake with gratefulness and fall asleep with hope. Let's cultivate a culture of gratitude. |
AuthorHello! I'm Becca -humanitarian, caffeine addict, lover of books, people, and all things Jesus. You can find me in my pajamas, day dreaming about rainy days and saving the world. Archives
May 2018
Categories
All
|