Lead Me

This week I have had the song Lead Me by Sanctus Real stuck in my head....

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I think sometimes we all need someone to Lead us...guide us. We all are called to different vocations, and we all will take a difficult journey to reach them. In life, we all have our moments of strength and of weakness. Whether you have another that can serve this role or not, remember the Lord is always willing to serve as that guide. He will never leave you alone, and never lead you to anything you cannot handle. He will always lead you through it <3

Colored Waves

The past several months have been a crazy whirl-wind of life. I am blessed to say that I have been able to caputure many of the moments through the lens. Here is just one...with more to come!
Allowing yourself to breathe in the fresh air and see the beauty in simple every day occurrences...what a wonderful way to live this life.

Find Beauty

 

Find beauty in the fallen petals, in the sky's teardrops. Find beauty in the unexpected snowflake and the silent blanket it lays. Find beauty in the singing bird on the dreary morning as small hail falls around you on your morning walk. Find beauty in the memories you cherish, beauty in the breath you currently take, beauty in the dreams that lie before you. Find that beauty and embrace it. Breathe it in; inhale deeply. Hold onto that beauty and let it awaken your soul, let it be a song when you struggle to remember a melody. Let it be an anthem to the miracles and high point, a soundtrack to your life. For life is full of beauty if we just take the time to see it.

Goodbyes and New Beginnings

_When we look up, it widens our horizons. In the sky, there are no boundaries; it is a vast sea of beauty. The sky, in that way, lets us dream without limits_

That time of the semester has again arrived: finals. Only this time, they have managed to stretch them out over two weeks instead of one. Only this time, the end of finals means a diploma and a new beginning. Only this time, the end of finals means a new state, a new town, a new home, a first clinical, and a multitude of unknowns.

Maybe it is the unknowns, maybe it is the end of a significant life experience, maybe its the promise of new beginnings. Maybe its just a normal restlessness combined with a sea of growth that has changed within me. Maybe its just being burned out. Whatever it is, it has my heart is restless, desiring a change of location, a change of pace, a change of experience.

While I have made some incredible friends over these past four years and have memories that I will forever hold close to my heart, along with experiences that have led me to growth and a stronger faith, I am ready to move on. While I will be back here after clinic come August, I am so thankful that I will be gone for a few months. When I return, I know it will not be the same. God willing, a best friend will have moved on to bigger and better things several hours away. Another friend will have just started her graduate PT journey...and while I am ecstatic for the changes and growth she will encounter, they are changes. Other friends will have moved on to other forms of educations, jobs, and or married life.

These are all wonderful things, and I am so happy for each and every one of my friends and the incredible changes that life is bringing for them. But, again, the Lo is changing and it is time to move on. I have become very independent this past year, and while I cannot see the future, I have a feeling there is still much growth to be had. God has worked tirelessly to force me to trust in Him fully and to rely fully on Him. In that, I am doing my best. I know that these coming weeks will only strengthen that, as I moved 4 and 5 hours away from the people I love and care about most. This is a season of transition in my life, a season of laughter, tears, lessons, memories, and new beginnings. This season of life has been crying out to me to see the beauty of the world, the color of spring. To appreciate the day to day and absorb it all in. To help me stop, accept whatever prospective God is trying to share with me, and to listen to the silence and messages He is sending with it. As I finish finals, head into graduation festivities, say many goodbyes and then some new hellos, I hope that I can keep the prospective I have been working to gain. I pray that I find whatever it is my heart seems to be searching for, and that, no matter what, I am continually growing into the person God has designed me to become.

There's Life At Both Ends of That Old Dirt Road

I took this picture Friday morning; its Uncle Ronnie plowing in the field down on Lane that we are finally able to use again, after so many years. While he did this, Dad was tiling the field across the road. I got to see it all on my morning run- a quick jaunt to the homestead and back. Seeing those guys in the field, up with the sun... it was just an awesome thing to be home and see again.  While their work is never finished, being home less and less places more and more distance between me and the family dinners in the field, trips to take the guys water, and memories of riding in the tractors. Its the little things that mean the most.
While I am developing, growing, and figuring out exactly what it is God placed me here to accomplish in this world, being home for Easter made me realize this: There's Life at Both Ends of that Old Dirt Road. I have a life down here with parts that I love and parts that I don't. And life at home, there are parts that I love and parts that I sometimes struggle with. The cool thing is, I can take the good from both ends...and that is who I get to be. I am able to live and love this life I live. And it doesn't necessarily have to be at either end of the dirt road...I can always stay on it and find my own place. With the ability to love everyone at both ends who mean so much to me <3

Worth Fighting For

Blossom

I love this quote, and when I spent time Friday looking out from the water tower at Prince Galitzen, it was one that was very obvious to me.  I have reached a point in life where I am no longer a child. I am making my own decisions, shaping my own experiences. Sometimes, those closest to me may not agree. They strongly suggest that, for financial reasons, safety- whatever it is, that I stay put and make choices that are not align with what my heart is telling me. It want me to stay 'tight in a bud' when my heart is telling me it is time to blossom.  Going against their desires and wishes is painful- it is not easy. I love them and respect them, yet I have come to realize that I must take the leap and the risk to blossom. One of my first steps toward blossoming was making the decision and then traveling to the Dominican Republic. And the experience proved to me that I am doing the correct thing.
In the gospel reading today there was something that really hit home in this. From John 12:24-26

Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me,
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.


What use am I to the Father, to this world, if I remain just a grain of wheat, just a tight bud? By taking the chances, making the decisions to follow my own heart, I am taking the opportunity to make the difference I was placed on this earth to make.


As I was reminded by today's sermon, we mustn't fail to trust in the Lord and to allow him to provide for us. We must put our hopes, our dreams, our hearts, and our faith- in Him. In doing so, we will honor and serve him. And we find joy in becoming the beautiful blossom we were designed to be.