Getting a Break

This being the middle of the 5th week of being on the road, I'm getting excited about being in Oklahoma for a week next week. I'll be on my way home two days from now! Yes! Then, after the two weeks after that, I'll be trying to settle into the Fall semester. I should probably stop typing and finalize my enrollment, but that can wait. School will always be there, and it doesn't matter if I get the exact classes I need- there are plenty of things to be worried about, and those are not them.

Basically, this post is about celebration. I'm reading a book on celebrating the extraordinary elements of the everyday. It's called 'Cold Tangerines.' Thanks, Grant. It's nothing too profound, it's just a collection of this chick's life stories, and how she reflects on them now; but I LOVE reading about them. I love seeing someone make epic moments out of the mundane, normal events that every day offers. I feel like I've almost perfected that, sometimes leading to an overreaction to things, which isn't the best thing, but I'd rather my valleys be deeper and my mountains be taller than feel nothing. We miss a lot when we just try to 'survive' the season we're in. We have a lot to learn when things are hard, so we might as well own the situations God has put us in and allow them to hurt us to the fullest, surprise us to the fullest. That act will definitely leave us with so much gained. Then, when things are great, we know that it's not just those times we get to enjoy- they are truly blessings from the Lord, times when we get to choose Him as our portion. 

So instead of looking at blessed times (i.e. my week off coming up) as the good times, the times when everything is finally okay for a while, let's live. Let's stop complaining. Worrying. Anxiously awaiting something better. Let's tap into the Kingdom- the water in the desert. the manna in the wilderness. the Provision that satisfies exactly what we need. When we are in blessed times, we don't feel like we need God at all. At least not nearly as much as when a friend dies or a parent leaves or we get sick or scared. Do we? 

Let's be careful about when and why we long to be delivered from the desert times. When you're there and God is hand-feeding you because of how weak you are and how strong He is, realize how blessed you are. how happy you are. nothing tastes better when you're exhausted, thirsty and hot than cold water. 

I know I talk about this stuff a lot. I know I've repeated myself a million times.

But here's what I will (hopefully) always believe in:

Brokenness brings us closer to the Lord, and being near to the Lord is all that matters.