Good gracious, I'm terrible at this whole keeping-up-with-a-blog thing! When I realize the last time I did this was just over 3 months ago and my original goal was to do it on a regular basis delving into daily life, well, I sure wish intentions counted for something!!
Therefore, I offer two thoughts on how so long has passed with no blog post. First, I've come to realize that as much as I LOVE writing, I want to spend time living my role in God's story of salvation even more than I want to write about it. God has given Shawn and me four of the best gifts in the world--I'd even argue THE four best gifts--and I want to be abundant with my energy for them. That means I need to use my "me" time cautiously so I then have that energy, and it means that I wouldn't feel good about taking time away from them to write about life with them. And I definitely wouldn't want to take away from my time with Shawn, which has become something of a precious commodity these days. Alas, excuse numero uno has been made.
Second, I offer to you the following: In February, Shawn and I dropped the girls off in KS and then went on to South Africa for 8 days to visit his sister (and family) who are there for 3-4 years. Although it was one of those trips that will go down in history as a comedy of errors--truly people, let me buy you a drink some time and provide you with a few good laughs--we also made memories for a lifetime, getting to see God's artwork in a totally new setting, and to see his face in a totally new culture. Next, in March I was back in KS to go watch my mom in her first musical ever--she was amazing and inspired me, as she often does, to live fully! I figured that would be the end of my travels for a while, but then the family from Africa decided they would make their one trip back and we didn't want to miss a chance for the girls to see their cousins just once in 4 years so it was back to KS we went for a quick but wonderful Easter weekend. I have much gratitude for the ability to do all that, especially since the vast majority of our travels were opportunities provided to us as gifts.
That said, I was ready to come back and be "normal," whatever that is. Instead, we had one friend from Ottawa come visit both in March and in April (first time for fun, second time b/c she was here for a conference anyway), and then a friend from college was here for almost a full week not too long ago. While we're on the note of visitors, I did the math just a bit ago, and over the course of living here 17 months, we've had family and friends visit here at least 15 times. What?!?! Again, I just want to praise the Lord in his graciousness for knowing how much staying connected to these people is a balm for my longing heart, and for helping me see that as I find great contentment when I'm "finally" in the company of these people I long for, I can only imagine the joy that will be complete when my longings to be in His presence are fulfilled! Some people go with the "deer longs for water" analogy...I say how 'bout give the "Anne longs for her peeps" analogy a try! ;-)
Okay, I digressed, but coming back to the point...we've been here, there, and yonder, and playing catch up in between (remember those things called school, work, and chores?) so blogging got to wait. I really do want to get to a point where it happens more often, if for no other reason than the fact that it's very cathartic for me. However, I find myself getting caught sometimes thinking, "wouldn't that be a great blog post?" or "ooh, I need to get on the computer ASAP and make that my facebook status" and then realizing that by doing so I'd be abruptly ending the moment that's so noteworthy when instead I could continue reaping every possible bit of clarity it brings me. Maybe someday in about 20 years I'll regret not typing out these precious stories, but today I feel Jesus is strongly calling me to get better at writing our story through my life and my actions, and not through my contributions to cyberspace.
I guess maybe I'll be back soon ( one can hope!), but on the other hand, we have family coming to visit again to help us celebrate a birthday, but most especially to celebrate our oldest daughter's First Communion!!! Now there's a story worth writing--and I mean writing by living. Seriously, could there be any greater moment on earth (for a married woman) than to come forward in unity with one's own child, husband at your side, to receive the Holy Eucharist?!?!?! There are simply no words right now to describe how humbly excited I am, so stay tuned...maybe by then I'll have gotten over my current tendency to get choked up just even at the mere thought of it!
Peace be with you,
Anne
:) * +
