No Pain, No Gain

Sore would be the understatement of the century. By sore I mean, I need a cane/walker to fuction today. Or better yet, a electronic wheelchair with one of those buttons to go forward in order to navigate my way around the workplace. This weekend has left me essentially crippled, crawling up staircases like a dog, and scooting my butt down them so as to relieve my legs of the pain shooting up from my feet, calves, and thighs. Took me 20 minutes from my bed to the kitchen just to grab some fruit from the fridge, and back to the bed.

Rewind.

This weekend I made the mistake of thinking I had leftover athleticism in my blood from the Glory Days of High School. Come to find out…I have negative athleticism. We woke up around 6AM which for me feels like someone is stabbing me in the eyeballs repeatedly with needles. Bethany drug me out of the bed by the pony tail and we were off, the two of us and my funny outdoorsy friend, Becca and my red haired angel of a new friend, Karla. Hiking a 14er is something that I have always wanted to say that I have done, and I am glad to have that checked off my bucket list because my new goal is to never hike a 14er again. I was out of breath before we even hit the rocks…on the grassy mellow slope. We took frequent breaks (but not frequent enough) where I just collapsed to my face and layed there while someone put a Camelback spout in my mouth from which to drink water. The last hour of the ascent was maybe the worst hour of my life to date.

However, we did FINALLY make it to the top, and I will say that it was breathtakingly gorgeous! Phenomenal! Fantastic! Amazing! ..and all of the other beautiful descriptive words that you could think of. I felt closer to God, and a little closer to heaven (also because of my impending death on earth that seemed to be only a step away)…and also felt a little light headed. I jumped out of a plane at 12,000ft in Missouri and hiked 14,000ft….doesn’t something seems severely wrong with that statement!?


After we made it to the top…we decided to hike yet ANOTHER 14,000ft mountain. Excuse me? Did NOT sign up for this. And damn my pride to hell for thinking that I could accomplish that feat. Should have instead taken advice from my leg muscles which were having violent, uncontrollable spasms. But as it stands, I am a moron and I set out to hike the 2nd 14er like an idiot. I think being lightheaded in the presence of all the beauty made me forget the hell of a trip that I took to get there. I would like to say that I did make it to the top of peak #2, but not without some tears and constant motivation from my blonde goddess of a friend Bethany, who skips up 14ers like they are a walk in the park. She was unbelievably patient with me and I absolutely wouldn’t have made it without her.

When we finally made it through an entire day of hiking and back to the car just in time for dinner, we had blisters and cramps and a complete lack of lung capacity. I had been popping pain killers like candy all day, but took 2 more just in case. From there we had buffalo burgers at TommyKnocker and freshly brewed beer which tasted like sweet nectar. I don’t remember much of dinner or the trip home because I was just focused on putting food in my mouth, or not falling asleep at the wheel. I was in a daze, which to my lovely friends probably seemed more like a coma.

8PM and I was asleep because at 8AM the next morning we were taking a trip BACK to the mountains to arrive at Copper Mountain Resort for the Warrior Dash. Over 3 miles of obstacles such as climbing over walls, army crawling through barrels, and swimming under barbed wire in a mud pit. Not to mention all the uphill terrain in between. I went with Karla, who was filling in for Beth, and we actually had to sneak her into the race like con artists, because they wouldn’t let her use an alternate identity. We did the whole thing in chacos which was one of the more painful mistakes that I have made in my life. The day was a blast, and we laughed a lot. Afterwards they gave us warrior hats and t-shirts, and a turkey leg to eat. Such a fun event and I will definitely do it again next year. We braved the horrific traffic on the way home just in time to sit in the hot tub for a bit in order to relax our muscles and then fall asleep early.

Cue excrutiating pain and the inability to mobilize my legs.

All in all it was one of my favorite weekends in Colorado, and I feel so blessed to have such fun athletic outdoorsy friends to live out my adventurous dream life with. God has been so good to me and I am loving my life here more and more every day! Hope you are having a great Monday!

As of lately

This past weekend was one of the greatest I have had in a while. My little broskies, Roman and Carson made their Colorado debut, arriving last Wednesday and rocking out in Colorado for 5 consecutive days. It was epic to have them here and I didn’t want to ever put them back on a plane to Texas. They are crazy stupid and I love those boys with my whole heart all the way down to their toes…even if they are just complete wack jobs. They take after their big sister.

Here is a video documentation of their trip:
Roman & Carson’s Colorado Adventure

Also included via video in a perpetual “waving scene” is my Denver based friend Bethany, a fellow wanderlust who didn’t come from anywhere specifically but has lived as a nomad her whole life. She is pretty and funny and wise beyond her years and I think she is just the bees knees as a buddy. She is the perfect road trip partner. I am just giddy with love for the God who ordained our friendship. Still loving every day of my time here in this mountainous, breezy, sunny wonderland.

I realize that I have been majorly slacking in the blog world, and to my 4 readers – I sincerely apologize. I have started writing a book and it would be a real waste to post that material on the InternetS if I plan on ever being published. So that, and the fact that about 50% of my best friends are only reachable via email – both have been reasons for my spare time to be used in one of those two categories.

I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately…which is so that I dont adopt cats or something because regardless of the fact that I am only 23, I feel like it is quite possible that I could be headed in the direction of crazy cat lady. Speaking of animals, my heart still longs for Moose…the puppy that I mentioned a few posts earlier.

I ran over a squirrel a couple days ago and I have not been able to sleep well since. It haunts me. Which leads me to the belief that Casey Anthony is a monster.

I am just entirely too ready for all of my regular shows to come back on. It has been a fun summer of being outdoors and eliminating TV from my nightlife, but I am ready to lay on a couch and laugh at childish ridiculous TV shows once again. Don’t judge me.

Speaking of ridiculous…Texas A&M, my beloved alma mater, is thinking of SECeding from the Big 12 and joining the SEC football league, to which I have responded W.T.F. are we thinking?!! As if we don’t lose enough games in the Big 12, now we want to face Alabama, Florida, and Georgia?? Clearly some of our leadership has been drinking too much looney juice because like a humor mentor commented on #thetwitter, “having A&M in the SEC would be like having Snooki in the Nativity Scene…just doesn’t fit.” AMEN sister. Amen.

Well. I prolly should actually do something productive. Until next time!

Remember last year?

One year ago I was prepping for an Outreach to Panama/Costa Rica. Looking through these old videos, tears are streaming down my face. Oh how GOOD the God is who orchestrated it all. Love these people so very much!! A life changing experience.

Watch the following videos in this order:

PART 1
PART 2
PART 3

Attention, Ally

It has come to my attention that I need to leave the U.S. again in the near future.

It’s come to my attention about a million times before and once again recently that I dress terribly. And when I say terribly, I mean that I have seen homeless people dressed better. ‘Nothing against homeless people’ (SHOUT OUT KATHAR). But seriously even the guy rolling his electric scooter down the one-way street the wrong way at lunch the other day at least had on a suit. Bethany wears cute clothes every day and everywhere we go, and I like to rock the sweat pants like a celebrity. I am not above it. And I don’t hate it. If I have to get some pajama jeans to satisfy all parties, I will look into it, but I just feel like that would really be hitting a low point. Anyways personality makes up for looks, and dressing like crap is justifiable and dare I say, acceptable as long as you say you’re trying to be funny. So that’s my rationalization.


It has come to my attention that full time jobs aren’t really my thing.


It has come to my attention that Texas is entirely too far from Colorado.


It has come to my attention within the last week that sometimes I have an accurate view in my head of who God says he is in the bible, and sometimes I am drastically, unbelievably off.

On one side, my family enters crisis lockdown mode AGAIN because for some reason bad things are drawn to us, and I praise the Lord in hardship and know that He is good and loves us. I know that He will sustain, provide, and I declare that he is worthy to be praised amidst devastation.

But on the other side, like a true schizophrenic, I turn around and freak out when I feel threatened with losing something important to me. I immediately resort to the fact that God is trying to take away any and all good things from me, and enter into a frenzy, where I put on eye black and blare “eye of the tiger,” and death grip anything that is good around me that I can reach. This includes people. I am one sad pathetic LOSER!* (more thoughts on this later). In the midst of panic mode, I read this in a blog and got really convicted like always.

“Luke 11:11-13. Jesus says:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I love these verses because they’re just blunt enough to break through my callused heart. Jesus uses such crazy examples! He doesn’t say, “Which of you fathers if your son asks for an egg, will give him a piece of bread?” He says, “If he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

I think he uses two such wildly different things, an egg and a scorpion, because he knows we’ll be tempted to create a jerk god in our head. A god who would give us the worst thing possible. A god who’d give a scorpion instead of an egg.”

Anyways so I have to constantly keep the God in my head in check with the God of the bible and make sure they are lining up. Because the God who is a jerk and wants me to be miserable and has a big suitcase of scorpions with my name on it…THAT God, is not God. God loves goodness. God loves mercy, not sacrifice. God loves gift giving. God loves the sick. God loves the mess-ups. And can I get a hallelujah for that?


It has come to my attention that Beef's bachelorette party is one and a half months away. YA YA YA YA YA.


It has come to my attention that Sydney Shrum could be my personality twin.


It has come to my attention that it has been far too long since I have breathed Texas air. In all its 187 degree glory.


It has come to my attention that those immediately around me at most times are not well educated on good movies, and do not appreciate them (or the humor of using movie quotes in everyday life) enough (in my opinion). For example, the other night I casually inserted a PERFECT movie quote from Dumb and Dumber and went ahead and started my own giggle, but did I receive knee-slapping laugher and high fives from the crowd? No. Instead, I received blank stares and a continuation of the previous conversation as if I had not just dropped the most amazing bomb of awesomeness right there in mid-convo. I was baffled. I needed a pause button. I was flabbergasted. I wanted to look around and say “did you guys not hear me? Because I just said something really funny and you did not laugh….” I was at a level 10 of confusion and frustration.

As a side note: If I do something which I deem humorous and have to follow up said action with the phrase…”okay, I realize that you thought it was funny, but I need you to think it was MORE funny. And publically display this emotion with laughter.” Then it’s likely we will not be best friends. And you shouldn’t even introduce yourself to Sydney Shrum because you will automatically be out with her too.

I will be willing to negotiate if you do not know good movies, the negotiation being that you will watch a list of movies that I will create for you, so that we will therefore not run into this problem again. I will not be willing to negotiate if you just don’t appreciate good humor. I get very nervous, awkward, and quiet when people don’t know what it means to laugh.


It has come to my attention that country music is no longer the bane of my existence but actually enjoyable. Especially Kenny Chesney’s “Summertime”.


It has come to my attention that I want a dog. And not just want, NEED. I need a dog. However there will be specifications that this dog must meet which will include but are not limited to the following: He must be either a English mastiff named Moose (preferably), a Labrador retriever, or an Alaskan Husky/Malamute. He must wrestle me on a daily basis and not pee on the carpet. He must be okay with me using him as a pillow. He must not smell, or make my house smell like him. He must love the outdoors and be athletic. He must like me better than any/all roommates and sleep with me every night. He must not eat any of my things. He must be big and drooly and awesome. He must be okay with living in Colorado and needs to love traveling. If anyone knows where I can get a dog for free with all of these qualifications, please let me know ASAP.

Let Freedom Ring

Today I have something important to write about and that is this great country that I call home…the U S of A.

There are few things that I tend to be prideful about, and one of such things as AMURICAH. As a disclaimer and prerequisite to this blog, you should know that most of the things I say jokingly (kind of).

This 4th of July marks ‘Muricah’s 235th birthday as we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence when Thomas, John, and the rest of the Declaration gang forever changed the world. Trying to picture the party that took place afterwards seems almost impossible, but I bet there was some serious smack talk going on using phrases like “suck it monkeys!” and boasting about how we are the best country in the world….to which I would say, not much has changed.

I mean, “American Exceptionalism” is an actual term in the dictionary.

What other country do you know of that celebrates celebrities and athletes like we do? What other country has songs about putting a boot in your ass? What other country can you live in that parties for sweet freedom with beer and fireworks and the glorious combination of the colors red, white, and blue? What other country can republicans and those crazy left wing yellow dog democrats come together and sing “God bless the USA” for one day per year?? A place where Coloradoans, Texans, New Yorkers, and Floridians can all get together behind one similar interest??

DARE I SAY, there is NONE!

As we fly flags this weekend and watch fireworks at Mile High Stadium and play with sparklers and have bottle rocket wars and wish we were on a boat, let’s remember how blessed we are to live in the best country in the world. Let’s celebrate the fact that:

Americans get to worship and talk about God freely and openly.

Americans get to freedom of speech.

Americans get rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Americans get to carry guns. WHOOP.

Americans get fair trials.

Americans get to vote.

Americans get to whoop and holler and ignore the fact that we are in financial crisis and party anyways!

Americans get to smell and taste sweet democracy, where we see a peaceful transition of power every four years.

So today, lets declare freedom with our Founding Fathers and give a toast to the red white and blue, because despite its (many) flaws, it’s still the best country on God’s green earth.

This is America damnit, INDEPENDENCE FOREVER! Lets party like its 1776.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Bizarre

Life is so bizarre right now. And when I say bizarre, I mean that I did not know it was possible to be so happy. I keep telling my friends, especially those whom I communicate with only by email (SHOUT OUT: Becca in Belize and Sarah in Australia) that it seems weird for me to keep sending such positive emails. I am much better at sending funny emails about crap situations, and in them, I feel like I have gotten really good at making the best of what’s around and laughing at my own demise.

My humor works best in times when things seem bleak and I have the ability to laugh at it.

Hence the lack of blogging lately. I don’t know how to write about the amount of joy that has overwhelmed me lately without feeling like I am sounding fake or superficial or something. It’s almost like I cannot fathom being this content with my life as it is in this moment. I told my mom this morning on the phone that I think YWAM started something in my life, and the last year has been an absolute highlight, and I think I am the happiest I can remember being. I don’t know how to explain it in words, people. The English language fails me.

I don’t know how to communicate joy as well as I know how to communicate pain. I think God has really been teaching me that I get to glorify Him in the mountain tops just as I do in the valleys. And I am reveling in His presence lately.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in the park learning to slackline and playing volleyball and laughing and drinking summer beer and actually did a pretty good job of not getting overly competitive at my team losing. Then we went downtown to do Denver Cruisers, which is where thousands of young people ride their bikes to meet at various bars around the city and then as a group, take a tour of Denver on a bike, stopping at different pubs and places along the way and ending at Civic Center Park for a huge party. This happens every Wednesday, and every Wednesday has a theme, so everyone is dressed in costume. It was hilarious because people go all out. We wore sombreros and were highly under dressed. Last night was Mexican Fiesta night, but other themes have been Mustaches and Wigs, Balloons and Party Hats, Beach Party, White Trash Bash, Cops and Robbers, Ski bums and bunnies, etc. It was SO FUN. I went with Bethany and two of our guy friends and we laughed all night and had the best night. When we got to the Civic Center we sat and people watched and talked about life and God and how we had all gotten to Denver. People’s journeys are fascinating. God is so creative.

Amidst a lot of crazy costumes and alcohol and weed and cigarettes, we sat on the steps and talked about the goodness of the Lord.

For the last two weeks I have been having nights like this, where I go to sleep thanking the Lord from the bottom of my heart for providing friends and joy and GOSPEL community that I could have never dreamed of on my own. For the last month or two I have been meeting to pray in the park and going to church and going on walks and listening to scripture on tape during my transit to and from Boulder. For the last few weeks I have met more people than I can remember names for. I have seen God start something and I cannot wait to see what He is going to accomplish through my time here.

There are still days when I miss home. There are many days when I miss Texas and familiarity. Nostalgia sometimes gets the best of me, but I really try to avoid over sensationalizing the past too much. But through all of that, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am exactly where I need to be. And praise Him that Denver was where he wanted me, because this city is brilliant and seems to be bursting with life.

Things seem brighter, like I just got new contact lenses or something. I feel like the old struggles that usually haunt me, the ones I carry around like extra weight, seem to have taken a nap or something. Freedom feels like breathing fresh air maybe with a hint of the aroma of freshly cut grass. I feel deeply and love deeply and am really taking a break from all that is skepticism and sarcasm and brashness to just rest in the joy of the Lord. And all by the grace and mercy of the God who loves me.

I believe that God is doing something big, and more and more I catch my thoughts drifting to Him and how much I want to be a part of whatever He is doing. I think slowly He is peeling back the layers of my flesh that keep him at an arm’s distance.

Sometimes I get weird feelings that I cannot physically position myself close enough to God. No matter what, I feel like I want more and like I might explode if I do not get more of Christ. I feel kind of like what I would assume a drug addict to feel like when it comes to intimacy with my Creator. I think I now understand the verse in the bible about God setting eternity in the heart of man much more than I ever have before because I really do long for Him.

I am aware that I sound crazy and super spiritual but it seems normal to me. It seems a lot more like falling in love than I thought it ever could feel. It feels a lot less like a rule book or a theology script and more organic like I find God in everything I do. And it feels good. Kind of like the way you feel when laying on the floor in the air conditioning after running uphill outside in Texas.

And so, I can’t think of any good jokes, but I do catch myself laughing a whole lot more often.

A Whirlwind of Events

I haven’t blogged in a long time about anything of real significance, and that’s mostly because I put that 23 limit on my blog for May, which was a fun idea until about May 4th when I realized I was out of things to make lists about. But some of those 23ers were real rockstar posts, my favorite being 23 Questions.

I thought I would take a second…a week into June, and recap the whirlwind of events that took place during May, which turned out to be my favorite month of this year so far. (Shocker there..)

Well, May came with snow. So that just sent me into an all out, rage blackout - I mean snow in May? Is that a joke? I did a lot of hanging out by myself in the weeks preceding Blair’s departure from the great state of Colorado. And the time came for goodbyes, but not before we attended a Brooke Fraser concert together in downtown Denver, which I knew would be a pivotal point in my life, but didn’t know just HOW pivotal it would actually be.

A not so quick story of encouragement: The first 4 months of living in Colorado were a rough transition for me, as I moved here alone and knew not a single person. So I got really involved with KLIFE and went to church and did all the things that you think you are supposed to do to make friends. I met Blair Week 1 who provided me with such sweet accountability for the next few months. However, in March, Blair got an awesome job offer in Texas (IRONY) and decided she would be moving away in May.

I would like to say that I quoted scripture to myself in that moment and told myself that God works all things together for his glory, or something super holy. But in all honestly, I was like what the heck, God?! This isnt fair! Like a whiny 2 year old. Inevitably, I started preparing myself to have an extremely lonely summer. I thought maybe it was just supposed to be a time for me to get really close to the Lord with no distractions, and at some level I came to a peace about that. I kind of saw it as my own little desert season, and I listened to that Hillsong song a lot and cried in my car while exploring the wonderland that I live in. Around April, I knew it was going to be really hard, but it became a lot harder than I had even expected and I was scared that I was going to get depressed again or something.

I got so sad that I even thought about moving back to Texas because it seemed so easy to move there and live within driving distance of every person that I loved. I was really lonely all the time and had nobody to hang out with except the family that I lived with—who by the way have been God’s absolute gift to me because I learn so much living with them. Almost every weekend I went to lunch alone or went on a walk and I saw a ton of movies by myself. That’s a humbling experience and it makes your heart do weird things being alone.

It was excruciating, being someone who loves being surrounded by people. All of my closest friends were making life transitions like moving to Belize or getting married or spending the summer at Kamp, and I felt like I was stranded in Colorado “attempting” to live my own dream. I thought dreams were supposed to feel like floating and bouncing on clouds that taste like marshmallows. I had felt so called here for so many months and this is how God repays me? Oh ye of little faith! I clearly have a serious lack of eternal perspective, but two months by yourself can feel like years.

I have been blessed with the privilege of keeping in touch on a weekly basis with a YWAM friend who is easily one of the most wise girls that I know. I was talking to Kelsea during our Thursday afternoon catch up phone call and was telling her how it was going to be a really hard summer and that I was going to be really lonely and I didn’t know where to find friends. I felt like I had done everything I was supposed to do and just really hadn’t found cool girls who love Jesus to hang out with. I longed and yearned for gospel community like I had been so spoiled with in my senior year at A&M. I said a lot of this and was fighting back tears, you know, so that I didn’t make a fool of myself in the middle of Whole Foods.

So Kelsea said, “Have you actually asked God to give you friends?”

And as profoundly simple as that seems, I thought about it, and the answer was no, I hadn’t actually asked Him directly to provide friends for me. I just kind of assumed that he knew that’s what I needed, I mean, he is God and all right?

As a side note: we learned a lot about praying out loud during YWAM and I was at the end of my rope one night soon after this and just said (out loud in my car): “God you know that I need friends. You know that I am lonely more than I know it myself. You are the one who created me relationally and you designed me to function best in Christian community. I have done everything that I know to do and I don’t know where to find cool/funny..its important/fun Christian girls in Colorado. So I need you to show them to me. I need you to give me friends. Because you can and I cannot, (as usual). I cannot be alone all summer, I will go insane. You know this. Please give me some friends that I feel like I have stuff in common with and that love You more than anything in this world because I don’t want to be mediocre, and I want to surround myself with people who love you. If you could do that sooner than later, it would be preferable. I love you and I really am sorry that I am such a titty baby about all of this.”

C.S. Lewis says “Now we cannot discover our failure to keep God’s law except by trying our very hardest (and then failing). Unless we really try, whatever we say, there will always be at the back of our minds the idea that if we try harder next time we shall succeed in being completely good. Thus, in one sense, the road back to God is a road of moral effort, of trying harder and harder. But in another sense it is not trying that is ever going to bring us home. All this trying leads up to the vital moment at which you say, ‘You must do this, I can’t.”

So about eh, 2 weeks later, as aforementioned--I went to a Brooke Fraser (my favorite Christian artist) concert in downtown Denver with Blair-my best friend in Denver that was moving away. Let me just say that the concert was absolutely amazing. The tickets were a birthday present from my mom and it seemed right as it was Blair & I’s last hoorah together.

We ran into this girl that we both knew from Kamp, who was attending the concert with one of her friends from Denver. So I got to talking to her friend and it turns out that she had just gotten back from a year long mission trip and she played soccer in college and is so funny and fun and pretty and loves the Lord so so much. So I brutally admitted that I was short on friends and she asked me to come to church with her (a church I had never heard of). I said that I would and gave her my number not really expecting much from it because people say a lot of stuff that they don’t mean and never follow through, you know?

She called me the next day. She invited me to go to dinner with her roommates that Friday night I was like …sure I guess. I figured it would be so awkward being all of her roommates and then me, but I went anyways. It was SO FUN. They are hilarious and they all do missions and they were all athletes in college. It was actually pretty bizarre how comfortable I felt being the first time I had met basically all of them.
I hung out with this little group Friday, Saturday, went to church on Sunday, joined their small group bible study on Monday night, and then helped one of them do Support letters that Wednesday. We planned camping trips and adventures in the park and concert dates.

I was completely in a whirlwind. I literally felt like we had been friends forever. They are so much like me (there is like 8 of them) and they are so funny and amazing. I might move in with them later this summer. So isn’t that just the bees knees!!? God totally provided friends out of NO WHERE. During a concert that I got as a birthday present. I wasn’t looking for friends, they just fell in my lap. All because I directly asked God to give them to me and He did. Praise Him.

All this to say, God provides. EVERY TIME. In His perfect timing. His grace is sufficient, and he tells us to ask him for what we want in prayer. Since meeting them I have spent consistent amounts of time with them and continue to grow in my love for them and for the Lord who just dropped them in my lap. Through them I have met a number of other friends, both guys and girls and am just swirling in joy for the Lord. May and June have been the most amazing gifts, and I can honestly say that God just lavished his love on undeserving, whiny me.

So I am loving Colorado. I really feel like I am exactly where the Lord wants me to be. I am starting a small group with Bethany, who is the first friend I made at the concert. I am so excited to see what the Lord will do.

In this summer of growing heat (FINALLY), I am basking in the glory and joy of the Lord. I read this from a woman who I greatly admire and respect:

“Part of me wonders:
Would the summer be so sweet, if the winter weren’t so bitter? And would the bitter winter be so bearable if the summer’s promise weren’t so sweet?

The Lord, in His providence and sustaining grace, is kind to mingle the two. In the cold of winter, we carry the warmth of the Son through Whom the promise is made to be with us “always to the end of the age.” And in the season of colorful communion, we carry the heavy reality that green will give way to gray, proving that we are not home yet.

For now, I will live in the season I feel swirling about me. I will drink it in, savor it as a foretaste of heaven: a blazing Son, a forever respite from a worn-out world and constant company, face-to-face with my Savior and the saints around the throne.“

Let us revel in Isaiah 43:18-19 on this beautiful summer day, which says “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”