"It's My Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To!"

Today is my 25th birthday. I'm feeling a little emotional today...but not really in a bad way. I was thinking about what it must be like for my parents to know their "baby" is 25 years-old. I cried this morning when I opened the birthday card they sent. I've always known I am loved by my parents. There has never been any doubt because they have made a point throughout my life to let me know that I am loved. But when I read their card this morning, their words made me really miss them today! Then I went to the grocery store and there was a man outside raising money for Alzheimer's research. He asked if I'd been personally affected by Alzheimer's disease. I thought about my Grandpa. (Has it really been 3 years since he died?) The gentleman at the store gave me a packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds in exchange for clearing out the loose change in my purse. My heart felt a little heavy thinking about Grandpa...in a bitter-sweet sort of way. I sure do miss him.... One of my housemates and I took a scrapbook we all put together over to our wonderful neighbors as a thank-you for their kindness and friendship toward us. It's silly.... We've only moved across town, not across the country. But I miss them already. They have been such an amazing example of godly parents and their little boys are so great! I think a pool party in their honor is definitely in our future!

I am blessed.

"...And Especially A Fireplace That Smokes!"

It's day 3 in our new apartment. We're still figuring out where to put everything and getting used to life in a strange yet familiar place. (Same bed, different room. Same stuff, different places to put it.) We're still discovering some of the quirks about our new home, too. We may not have "a fireplace that smokes" (credit "Sense and Sensibility" for that quote), but we have wimpy "shower power" and granny toilet seats that go "whooosh" when you sit down. It's a little weird.

I kind of feel like I'm in limbo. The old house isn't home anymore but our new space doesn't feel right either....yet. I'm confident that once we are a little more situated and can see the floor of our living room (instead of boxes piled high and furniture in the middle of the room), it'll feel homey. (And it'll help to get the rest of our stuff from the house...those small items we were just too tired to pack on Saturday.)

Uncle Sarah!

Wednesday was a big day. My sister found out whether she was having a boy or a girl. But before I officially tell you, I have to share a funny conversation I had with one of my housemates that morning. It went something like this:



"Guess what?!" I exclaimed. "Today I find out if I'm going to be an aunt or an uncle!"

"Really?" Anna replied, completely oblivious to what I'd just said. "That's so great!"

"Um...except I can't really be an uncle, Anna."

"Oh! You shouldn't do that to me this early in the morning!" Anna laughed.



On top of it, the poor thing was sick, too, so it was entirely cruel of me to tease her like that. It made for a great laugh, though. (You should've been there!)



Anyway, the results are in. IT'S A BOY!!! I knew it was a boy all along. I even dreamed it was a boy. (Of course, my sister and her husband both had dreams it was a girl, so I can't really put too much stock in dreaming.) What can I say? Auntie's intuition. :)

"Ironic"

Last night was the last class of "Perspectives" for the year. I had to laugh when the speaker got up and started talking about "Change." Funny, God. Here I'd just been bemoaning change earlier in the day, and then God blatantly confronts my attitude. This is, in effect, the message I heard:

God is the Initiator of change. Ever since the Fall in the Beginning, God has been at work, changing hearts, turning people away from evil and unto Himself. His desire is that we might know the newness of life that comes from Him. There can be no newness without change.

And so, we are left with a choice: Will we be victims or agents of change? Will we react to every detour, every rut, every stumbling stone in the path with doubt and self-pity? Is God not good? Does He not "work all things together for the good of those who love Him?" Does He not have our best in mind?

Yes, He is. Yes, He does.

This journey is but a chapter in Christ's story of transformation - transformation of our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. He is changing us to be more like Him. May we choose to be joyful participants in this journey, no matter how rough the road may become. The destination is truly worth it all!

Sinking In

Yesterday it started to hit me. We're moving in 4 days! We're leaving our wonderful neighbors and our beautiful neighborhood and moving to a huge and impersonal apartment complex. (Well, I suppose it's only impersonal if we allow it to be that way....) Change sucks. Good change, bad change, it all sucks. Sure, it's good for us, and we may even enjoy it in the long run.

I think change was a foreign concept in the original scheme of things. Adam and Eve weren't designed to leave the Garden. They were just supposed to have babies and grow old together (although, I suppose age wasn't in the original plan either, since aging leads to death). Change must've really sucked for them, getting booted out of the Garden and all, and suddenly being required to do manual labor and endure painful childbirth. Huh. I guess in comparison to all that, moving a few blocks across town really is no big deal. What's my problem, anyway? (Don't answer that! We don't have time....)