Humility and Hope

It's the last night of November and rain clouds crowd the sky. Wet ground and grass welcome winter and Christmas lights on tree-lined streets glow in anticipation. December commences at the strike of midnight and with it, my countdown begins.

Decade, your days are numbered.  A new one is on it's way.  It's fitting that this night also marks the end of my stay at this house on the Wood streets.  If change is going to come, it might as well come in big doses.  I will miss this house. It's creaking floors and red door. My room with its brown walls and a closet the size of a small country. And I will miss the cushion of my 20's. But it's time to move on...

And I do that believing God knows what's best for me.  Don't get me wrong.  I have my moments.  My meltdowns.  Panic at the realization of how different the picture of my life looks compared to how I saw it in my head these past three decades.  I don't always trust God, but I do sometimes.  I do sometimes.  I do tonight, with a stormy sky outside my fleeting bedroom window and a song about eternity sounding through my laptop speakers.

The song is called You Hold Me Now.  There's a part at the end, almost an afterthought, that says Your kingdom come/your will be done/here on earth as it is in heaven.  This is the way I want to begin the new things that are coming, with humility and hope. Humility to accept a different picture than the one I had mind and hope because I know from the bottom of my heart that He knows what's best for me.  More than anything else, I want my life to be about His Kingdom and His will. Right now, for me, moving towards His kingdom and His will means moving towards humility and hope.

Thanksgiving

So Thanksgiving's coming up.  My favorite day of the year.  My favorite half-week of the year, actually.  Four days of being around people I love.  Four days packed full of one of my most favorite pastimes, eating.

In the spirit of excitement and anticipation, here's some of the things I'm most looking forward to:

Brie cheese, turkey races, no homework, Starbucks on Thanksgiving morning, a gazillion pints of Baskin Robbins ice cream, prime rib, oh so buttery mashed potatoes, Landon's first Thanksgiving, never ending Christmas music on KOST 103.5, cold nights, chopping up onions and crying profusely, three-night slumber party, sitting at the eternal kid's table, potato peeling party, seeing people I don't get to see as often as I'd like, classes being cancelled on Tuesday night, driving to Orange County while listening to my favorite Thanksgiving music which is of course Carrie Underwood's first album (there's a story there, maybe I'll tell you about it sometime), turkey sandwiches, fireplace at Aunt Sue's, whipped cream ceremony, and if we're lucky, perhaps getting to watch one or two cheesy/delightful Hallmark channel Christmas movies.  

Most of all, it's the people.  My family.  Enjoying each other and being grateful for the gift we get to share: Thanksgiving.