Lesson Four: Soak It Up, Smell Your Scarf

I will never forget this moment...

It was the first day of school back from Christmas break, some year in elementary, and the big yellow bus pulled up to my driveway and opened its welcoming doors.  For all my bus-riding years, my wonderful, gentle mother would usher me to the end of the drive, wait with me, and encourage me for the day ahead.  This particular day was daunting to a little girl who had just spent the entire holiday with her mom (and family), doing crafts, baking cookies, and Christmas shopping, and celebrating the Savior.  Now, it was time to say a temporary goodbye, which, on this particular day, this little girl could not handle well.  Tears welled in my eyes, and I told my mom I did not want to leave her (for all of six hours, might I add).  She sweetly smiled at me, unwrapped the purple, fuzzy scarf from around her neck, and wrapped it lovingly around mine.  She said something to the affect of, "See, honey, it smells like me.  If you get sad on the bus, just smell my scarf, and know I am right there with you."  I think I still cried that morning, but breathing in the sweet scent of my mommy calmed me down and gave me hope that I would make it through my "very long" day and see her soon.

This gorgeous view is one snapshot of the length of road that I drive every day to work.  While driving on it this morning, I noticed a mother and her son, waiting at the end of their driveway, for the bus.  The memory of Mom's scarf came flooding back to me, and I smiled widely.  What a precious thing, a relationship between a mother and her child...

...on a day when the weather looks like this, I literally roll down my car window, stick my head near the window, and breathe in the immaculately fresh air.  I have been doing this more recently because I am realizing that I am living here, atop this small mountain, amidst these lush trees, in this precious town, for only three more days.  Recognizing that this chapter is winding down is making me all the more aware of the beauty surrounding me...to the point that I would--yes--stick my head out my car window.

These ideas about taking in the scent of people and places that are important to me has caused me, not only to gain a deeper awareness of how completely blessed I am, but to relate it all to the perfect relationship that we have with our Father.  If I think a mother's love is something to cherish, my Heavenly Father must be pretty incredible!  I consider soaking up the fresh air, and taking the memories of Hershey with me, and I realize that my Father's presence goes with me wherever I go.  Just like taking a deep breath of Mom's purple scarf gave me hope for that afternoon, when I would run into her arms, so I consider the Word and know deeply that the God of the universe cares intimately about me.  

Who am I / that the Lord of all the earth / would care to know my name / would care to feel my hurt...(song by Casting Crowns)

So, wherever you are, soak it up.  It's not forever.  Smell your scarf, whatever it may be, and know you are not alone.

[This is for you, Mom.  One of our first memories in Hershey.  I loved making the trip with you!]

Lesson Three: Beauty in the Storm

  

We all awaited the impending hurricane Irene on Saturday night, eagerly aching for our day off, but also wondering how she would affect things...

...everyone was safe and sound, as the winds blew around our condos, and the only damage done was to the main power line supplying our homes.  (Yes, we are still without power...showers at Gold's Gym, anyone?)  Yesterday turned out to be the best "last" day off we could have spent as a cast.  It included resting indoors, many naps, and finally, a big New Orleans-style dinner, lit by candlelight.  We surrounded the boys' condo with tealights, used our "flashlight" iPhone application to cook dinner (we lit the stove using a lighter), cooked biscuits on the grill, and spent the evening talking beneath the starts.  A cloud-ridden, wind-struck day turned into a gorgeous, peaceful, star-filled night.  I have never in my life regarded stars so bright.  

So, thank you, Irene, for a Hershey adventure!  I am so blessed for all the incredible moments that have happened in this place...

Spiritually speaking, the Irene storm and the resulting beauty parallel the storms that we encounter in our own lives.  It is amazing how being left without something as simple as power can make a girl stop and count her blessings.  I woke up yesterday thinking, "Oh man, I can't brew coffee..." and instantly stopped myself.  There are children in other countries without education, all because they must spend their time walking miles to find suitable drinking water.  The heat in our water is just diminishing today, but it is a small inconvenience compared to what others must face.  

I think about the small joys that come with storms.  If not for Irene, we would have missed an evening laughing, cooking by iPhone light, and reflecting on the summer.  So many joys have come from these past four months, and I am immensely grateful for every single day.

The beauty of the storms of life lies in the perfect relationship that we have with the Father.  During my time reading the Word, He reminded me that His care for me, for all His children, is PERFECT, without fault, and is full of compassion.  Sometimes, when the storms come, we need only to turn to the God of Comfort.  His presence is unending, surrounds us, and shelters us.  When Jesus resurrected, He said to His disciples, "My peace I give to you...".  We are gifted with immense blessings and perfect peace!  

The next question is, how can I use peanut butter to make meals this week...?  

Not a lesson, just a thought...

As I was swimming laps this morning, it occurred to me that the physical alignment of the head and neck while doing freestyle is comparable to our daily journeys....

...when I tilt my head up to look slightly ahead of me in the lane, I experience a physical strain on my neck.  It's not comfortable, and I exit the pool feeling tense.

...However, if I choose to gaze straight down at the lap lane, focusing on exactly where I am at that point in time, I swim more efficiently and more ergonomically.

The point: Gazing straight down in the lane is like focusing on the day at hand.  Straining one's head to look ahead is like trying to figure out the future before it happens.

The first is a much better choice.

Lesson Two: Hardship Makes Us Better

Last night at ladies' group, we started a new study by Beth Moore called Living Beyond Yourself.  It's already rocking my world.  I started my first day of "homework" this morning, and Acts 14:22 really settled upon my heart and mind.  I needed this to be my lesson for today, and as a preparation for future times, when I am sure hardships will increase in number and intensity.

Acts 14:22
...strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.  "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.


I will never forget the moment when I understood the spiritual truth that the Lord gives us hardships to make us better.  I cannot recall where I was sitting, or what age I was, or what caused the revelation, but the moment is vivid in my memory.  Trials and tribulations finally had purpose, and I understood.  Just like James explains, God desires us to be transformed into the likeness of His perfect Son, to be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  And He uses the difficult seasons of our lives to accomplish just this objective.


I wonder today what the Lord is preparing me for, come future times.  His ways are higher than ours, and we will not know what's to come until it happens.  Ever feel like you are halfway living in the unknown?  Beyond yourself?  It's exciting if we allow God to handle it all.  That's how it's meant to work.  I'm just now understanding this, and I'm not altogether successful, by any means.  I have days when all aspects of the unknown seem like my enemy.  Rather, the unknown is comparable to those paintings where the color can only be revealed by sunlight; a portion of God's painting is colored in invisible ink, only to revealed by the light, when the time is right.  My responsibility is to wait in faith, and trust the work, the brush strokes being painted in the lines...


By strength and encouragement in the truth, hardship makes us better. 

Lesson One: Just Breathe

A very wise person once told me to take the next two days to purposefully avoid job hunting, and instead, to Google "living in nyc"...

Yes, this happened about two hours ago.  For the past four months, I've been performing in Hershey, PA ("The Sweetest Place on Earth") at the famous Hersheypark, singing and dancing twenty shows a week for enthused theme park audiences.  These four months have simultaneously been a time of preparation for the big move to New York City, a move that, four years ago, I would have said was still "up in the air for me".  New York City, The Great White Way, is the place for aspiring actors to plant themselves; but up until about six months ago, I may have denied the city's theatrical mecca for fear of its overwhelming landscape, chaotic way of life, and altogether urban lifestyle, unfamiliar to this Midwestern girl.  The Lord, over time and prayer, made it increasingly clear that New York City was, indeed, an option for me.  So, sixty job applications and various other preparations later, here I am, counting down the ELEVEN days until I move myself to a brand new place.  It's surreal.

Earlier tonight, my incredibly strong, honest, and gentle boyfriend reminded me of just that: I have two weeks left to enjoy my time in Hershey.  Two weeks to breathe in the fresh air, to have my coffee in the morning and see the lush greenery out my window, to work out at 8am because I'm not called to the park until 11, to laugh with my cast and perform a corny, wonderful show, to be home by 430 and use the evening to be productive and rest.  Two weeks.  Tonight's lesson is indeed JUST BREATHE.

Breathing does not come easily to me.  Most of the time, I'm too busy trying to control my circumstances to breathe.

But, the Lord commands us numerous times in Scripture to trust Him.  These four months, He has been developing within me an understanding of what it truly means to trust.  Not just surrender with my mind, but trust with my heart.  


Psalm 9:10 
Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.


I have also been reminded lately of all the blessings I have been given, throughout my life and in preparing for this new step.  The Lord has never once forsaken me.  What an amazing God we serve.  


I tell myself tonight, as I lay down to sleep, to JUST BREATHE.  Breathe in the blessings, breathe in hope, breathe in joy, and then breathe out, and release it all to the One who knows best.  JUST BREATHE.