How is it already July? I keep asking myself this question as the days seem to slip by in sunny refusal to move any slower. The great joy of these last months enjoying a Michigan mitten summer has been rediscovering my love for ordinary adventures. During the school year swamped in commitments and to-dos, there's rarely a margin for exploring the city I live in or trying something new outdoors. Then summer comes, and in my more relaxed work schedules and the extra long hours of sunshine outside, I'm so thankful for the freedom it provides to get out and celebrate ordinary adventures. In summer I feel permission to be a big kid and get on my rollerblades for an afternoon just because, and get ice cream anytime the temperature reaches above 85, or spend a whole afternoon reading by the pool because there's nothing else I have to do.
At the end of June, I had the unusual and special pleasure of spending a week up north with the family I nanny for -- I know that's not the case for a lot of people in my position, so I'm grateful I got to tag along. It's one thing to treat myself on an afternoon bike ride in the northern Michigan sun, and it's another to bring a 4 - year - old along on familiar hiking paths from my childhood when my family went to Leelanau State Park on camping trips. Walking those same trails and laughing with my 3 - foot - tall sidekick was so fun; if you do life with me, you know it's still not an "easy" or "simple" job as some assume childcare positions to be, but there are bright bursts of joy that make it all worthwhile. One analogy I've heard before is that of a string of fairy lights -- twinkling moments of wonder and gratitude strung together...I think that image not only describes my experience working these last months, but also captures my summer thus far as it's been punctuated with sweet, colorful snapshots of joy. Strolling around the Farmer's Market, visiting a good friend in Chicago, frolicking at a nearby outdoor festival, Lake Michigan; these are the precious moments I'll look back on from this summer and cherish. I'm already starting to feel that familiar squeezing and stirring that comes with big life transitions, but I'm coming to understand that those feelings are a mark of how special this season of life has been that I don't want it to end just yet. Now, more than being anxious about the newness of Colombia, it's feeling the weight of the goodbye I'll have to say to this place and this time.
I subscribe to a weekly email that challenges readers to seek new experiences and embrace the adventure in life. One line struck me a few weeks back: "...the greatest measure of how fully one has embraced an experience, a relationship, and the seasons of their lives is the breadth of the gap left by their endings. If you feel a bittersweet absence at the end of the season ahead, then there’s a good chance that you loved something about it, that you were open to embracing the opportunities and the people that fate put forward." That definitely rings true for me as I anticipate my own "bittersweet absence." And yet, it's a reminder to me that all of this life is a gift and it's ours to accept with open arms each day.
Through all this, though, I still think often about my upcoming time in Colombia with YAV. In this time of preparation I've noticed that I need prayer to trust in the unfolding and know that I'm held in grace. My friend Nicole challenged me recently to name God in new ways, and I'm really comforted remembering the image of God as an anchor. With so much change ahead, I want to hold on to that image of God as a steadying, sustaining force. In the easy rhythm of summer, I've also felt more connected to the Lord in nature, on playgrounds surrounded by kids, and near the water; the 4 walls of a church are still special to me, but the wide - open welcome of the outdoors and the reckless abandon of kids have inspired me deeply with the reminder that I am free, I am loved without condition, I am a daughter of the King...I'll be holding closely to those anchors in the coming weeks.
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