“When it rains, it pours & opens doors that flood the floors…”

Rain is amazing. It was raining as I drove home late last night, and I just thought about how much I love the rain! There is something about it that is oddly calming. It also can feel cleansing as it permeates the earth.

My favorite place to be during rainstorms is in the car. You are surrounded by windows and can see the vastness of the rain stretching across the sky. When I was younger I would ask my parents to please take me with if they were going to go somewhere while it was raining. It gave me a feeling of safety, which is odd because many people fear accidents on the slippery streets. Not me, no, I felt as though nothing could get to me. I could sit in the car for hours on rainy days to watch the lightning strike and anticipate the thunder to follow.

Rain is something that I am thankful for.

 

To all you kids out there that apparently haven’t met my parents-

…sorry to disappoint you. Unfortunately, no, I did not really get my lip pierced. That was fake. Did you really think my parents would be okay with that? If you have ever met them, then I am extremely shocked that you would think they’d let me do this. Goodness, no. I would have to do this once I am out of the house. The quotes, of course, were all real, and I really do want to get my lip pierced, but I would get a stud not a ring like that. Maybe when I am in college and can “do what I want.”

Then again, I might not, because sometimes I get annoyed at the fact that I even got my ears pierced. I happen to think that my ears are relatively decent. Now they have holes where they wouldn’t naturally. This ruins something that was once very nice looking. I am hesitant to do this with my lip.

But it would be sooooooo sweet.

I guess you will all found out when I come home for break next thanksgiving what I decided to do.  

“Okay, and I’ll dye my hair rainbow!”

-Kathleen

“I’m not kidding Kathleen, it would be so sweet!” -Me

“No actually, it wouldn’t Sam.” -Meghan

       

“It looks gross.” - Angie (my sister)

Beauty

 It’s days like today that make you want run up to the top of a giant hill and spin in circles with your arms spread out until you can spin no more, and lie on the ground basking in the sun, letting the soft breeze fly through your hair, tickling your face. After lying there long enough you roll down the hill, circling faster each time, feeling the grass beneath you and crunching whatever leaves lay in your path. Upon landing at the bottom you lay in the grass peering up at the top of the hill, watching all the people running, playing, flying kites, and enjoying the day. And once that is said and done, you race back to the top with your hair blowing into your eyes and mouth, laughing all the way to do it all over again.

When I was little I would do just that at Mt. Trashmore. It was one of the most wonderful places, especially on days like this. Since moving, I have not found anything quite like it and definitely miss it.

zsdjfsdhgfgft lakgtj … aka- AHHHHHHH!

sdfiluawerop sjfdgrkltu wgtrkljqepo iewtopuirtu acweoptig serwltiwaopwu

Sorry about that. I am so stinkin’ frustrated right now!  I thought about writing a sweet blog that was cleverly written with some sort of hidden message to show of my level of upsetness (totally not a word, I realize this), but I am even too flustered for that. ERRRG!  

(Note: I am not writing this to receive sympathy or attention from anyone, I promise. I just need to say something about it because avoiding the issue completely is not working anymore. Let me vent rather ambiguously in this blog real quick and I should be better by tomorrow…err mostly. Or not. )

I am past the point of throwing a fit (not that I throw fits too often, but every once in a while it helps a to throw a little “mini-fit” in my room by tearing my most recent junk mail from colleges and whisper screaming). I can’t decide if I am more angry or frustrated or sad or confused or if I care even anymore or AGH! I am just upset. If you were to look at me, the expression on my face is one of utter obfuscation of how to respond. That’s the best I can do to explain it, but even that doesn’t come close.  Maybe this will give you some sort of idea.

Bad days are horrible. Why does this one have to keep repeating itself?

 

…

I love Emily Dickinson

What would it be like to be a recluse?

Something about her just makes me wish I could be more like that. You could just observe people and their lives, decide for yourself what it may be like to be them. Sometimes I just want to do that - sit silently in my own little corner of the world and listen, think, watch, and wonder.

The thing I find best is the fact that no one would or could expect anything from you.

Li : a Chinese unit of distance

Have you ever stopped to think about how much people notice you? Because everyone is noticed quite a bit. I might go as far as saying that I am somewhat of an observant person, and I find myself constantly watching people. I cannot be the only one who does this. Therefore, at times, I am being observed as well. Isn’t it crazy to think about what conclusions people come to after watching you? I happen to think so. What do they see?

—-Disclaimer: I am extremely tired and I feel as though this blog may jump around a bit, but I would still say it is worth reading, because it will eventually lead me to a great story about this way cool man. —–

As I started making my calls I looked around the room to see who else was there. A college-aged girl sitting across from me texting her friends and doodling between calls, a patriotic woman wearing an American flag sweater behind me who spoke a little loudly and had an odd obsession with ringing the bell every so often (later I came to find out that she rang it when someone said that they would vote in favor of our party in the upcoming election), a couple of busy and slightly frantic looking people walking all around the room and the other room making important calls, a middle-aged man in a sweatshirt and jeans that mostly kept to himself that I recognized from before, a slightly dazed man that was dressed a bit nicer than most of us, and the kind gentleman that happened to appear very chipper even though he was doing tons of tedious work.

This older guy, who I later learned was named Gayland, was really nice and I had been watching him since I arrived a few days ago. He was talking to another man and apparently neither one of them wanted to do anything other than chat with one another. The other guy was saying something about how he was bipolar and his doctors had told him not to work anymore. Gayland was real kind and listened patiently. I didn’t catch all of the conversation because I was busy calling people to let them know where their voting location was and remind them to vote in between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. (along with a bunch of other stuff about the candidates) Eventually, their conversation led to faith.

It was so inspiring to listen to an elderly gentleman share so passionately about his faith in Jesus. He was so open about it, but not in an intrusive way. He reminded me of Colossians 4:5-6 which says, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” He was such a good example of what this looked like.

The whole time they were talking I wanted to jump over there and exclaim about God’s love for us and how wonderful God is, and give the man a hug and say “we’re in this together!” Sometimes life can be so difficult and it feels as though there is no one to help support you along the way, but when you meet another believer, one that you know is truly living his life to glorify the Lord, things look up a bit.  You don’t feel as alone in the world. Unfortunately, I was assigned to call hundreds of people, so I kept doing that, admiring the man’s faith from my seat and watching what I could of their conversation. I didn’t think that I would get the chance to ever meet him until heaven one day.

But, I got the privilege of meeting him before that glorious day. As I was getting ready to leave I contemplated itroducing myself but decided against that. He came up to me though, and asked about where I went to school and how old I was. (He also guessed me to be about 14….what? Do I really look that young? You can be honest with me…do I?) Then he boldly asked what church I went to. This surprised me because we had no conversation about faith, nor did I even give off the slightest indication that I attended church. I answered him and then returned the question. He then said something that really took me off guard, “I could tell you were a Christian because of that smile. You can just see Jesus all over.”

WHAT!? He said that about me? That was so shocking because here I was thinking about how strong a Christian he seemed just during that short time I had watched him. He could tell too? Weird. Crazy. Exciting!

We ended up talking for a while after that and swapped testimonies (extremely abbreviated versions) and it was such an encouragement. He told me about his life that was full of sin until an evangelist spoke to him, the Holy Spirit got to him, and there was no stopping at that point. 46 years later and his faith was as thriving as could be. As he talked it was evident that this faith was just as exciting to him as the day he first gave his life to Jesus.  As our conversation started coming to an end he shook my hand and said, “You’re my sister.”

Pow. That statement sorta got to me. By saying that, he conveyed how much he cared for me even though we hardly knew each other.

What makes me chuckle is the fact that this was not a missions trip, church, or a church-related function. This was just on Hickman and 70th in some offices that the Republican Party rents before elections. Neither one of us had any inclination based on the event to believe someone else there would share in the same beliefs and love for God, nor did we have items (t-shirt, bracelet, bible in hand, etc.) to lead us to this conclusion. People notice you and your actions anywhere and everywhere.