Last night I rode home with three of my friends...in two different cars. Liz and Jackie and coming to visit Janet and I's neck of the woods, dear 'ol Southeast Kansas. After switching riders, I spent the second half of the 3+ hour trip in Janet's car. Eventually the radio come on (I am sure it is because Janet quickly got tired of my stories...though she would never say it) and we started belted out "Stealing Cinderella." Despite the fact that neither one of us can sing- not that well anyway :) -the moment was beautiful. In fact in that moment time seemed to stand still.
In one instant the song brought an abundance of thoughts into my mind....
a. I'm not ready to leave college, period. It has taken me three years to realize the gift I have been given and now it seems like time is running short to make the most of it. As I sat in the Active Student Retreat this week I was asked to write down what prayers in my life have been answered. Not knowing where to begin I sat and pondered....there are so many to name. The thought that kept coming into my mind were the people that God has placed into my life. Without a doubt each one of them is an answer...to my dad's prayers. It can't be easy to let your children grow up and I can only imagine watching your baby girl walk out of your safety thinking that she is Miss Indepoendent and can take on the world. Bottom line...I am so very blessed that God ansered my daddy's prayers and placed the most holy, genuine, and Christ-like people in my life to challenge, comfort, and chase the cross alongside me.
b. "Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight. Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin" The lyrics remind me of how innocent childhood was; how we didn't worry about a thing and took one day at a time. When did I "grow up"? When did I become too good for my roots? When did I stop seeing the beauty of my small hometown? I am not proud of the fact that I rarely call home, talk to only one to two people from my graduating classmates, and only make it back for a weekend visit twice a semester...if I am lucky. My roots made who I am...college just helped to uncover that person.
c. "Dancing with her dad, looking up at him"- The line just about brings me to tears every time I read it. I am nothing without my family. It is so easy to push the people who love you most to the back of your mind. Keeping up the parents till 1am when I get home to tell them all about life and then spending the next hour pouring over old photos and yearbooks thinking of "how life used to be." It is in these simple moments that I see the glory of God the most. He created every snapshot of my life and every conversation, heartbreak, and joyous moment in between. He knows what He does and I would be nothing without Him.
As I cranked up the song on the radio a smile creeped across my face. These moments are the ones worth living for. What are you living for? When was the last time that we stopped to bask in the glory of God? When did we last thank Him for the simple pleasures of life that often pass by? Take a moment today to thank Him for the gifts in your life, the prayers He has answered, and blessings He gives us in every single moment.
