ocean in a bottle

erin brought be back some of the ocean from when she was in mexico. she handed me a bag of sand, a bundle of shells, and a bottle of ocean water. i love the ocean and miss it terribly, which is why she brought those things back for me. i put them in a jar, so i can have my own little ocean to look at and appreciate.

the thing is, as wonderful as my ocean in a bottle is, it isn't even comparable to the actually ocean. you can't capture the depth, the vastness, the beauty, the power, the life of the ocean in a little glass jar. my shells are beautiful, but there are so many more out there! and the little bit of sand i have is great, but it isn't the same as the beach. you can't walk along it, build castles with it, and truly enjoy it in the same way.

do you ever think that maybe we have God in a bottle? we cannot contain Gods power, depth, beauty, vastness, and movement within ourselves. He is too big to fit inside of our heads and hearts. isn't that amazingly encouraging? He is so much bigger than us! how could i trust a god that i could conceive? so every now and then we get to go to the beach. we experience God in a new, exciting, magnificent way. and then we bring back a little to remind us of what we experienced. my ocean in a bottle is nothing compared to the real ocean. however, it reminds me of what i have experienced and witnessed. it is a reminder of sorts, and that makes it precious.

i pretend to be artistic

i took pictures! because i got a camera for christmas.

parking deck

today i danced with You
on the empty top floor of a parking deck
when the morning mist still hung in the air.

We sang and danced and simply existed. together.
i breathed You in, cold winter air.
You ran through my reins
as my heart beat in time to Our song.

i sounded my yawp
and You echoed it in the wind,
sending it through the world we overlooked.

and in the soft light of the rising sun,
i was fully loved by You
and i was beautiful,
because You were with me.

family and crazy hats

a lot of my extended family came down to visit this weekend, and it was wonderful to get to see them all. they had come for my aunt’s surprise party, and then we celebrated my grandparent’s 45 wedding anniversary. that is very typical of my family: always having some sort of party. We have some of the weirdest traditions, like getting a crazy hat to wear on your birthday. If you ever wish to see our collection, feel free to ask. the ridiculousness of it is quite impressive.

on Sunday night, at the anniversary dinner, everyone was giving toasts. it started out serious, with my grandparents each saying something about their marriage and family, and then turned into a joke to see how many toasts could be given. (my cousin ryan wins the award by dramatically standing up and announcing, “you all are looking at me right now,” and sitting down again.) but what I began to realize that my grandparents have taught me is just how important family is.

for as long as I can remember, my grandmother has wanted nothing more than a picture of all of her grand children for christmas. when I was little, this only meant another painful session at the Picture People. but she truly doesn’t want anything more than to be with her family. at the surprise party for my aunt, she was so excited to see all of her siblings, nieces, nephews, even her great aunt. but the most beautiful thing was watching my grandfather in the background, as everyone hugged and squealed and said their hello’s, tearing up at the sight of his family together.

my grandparents have gone through some really hard times with their families growing up, in their marriage, with their children, and now with their nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. It certainly hasn’t been easy. but family isn’t something that you can get rid of. they are always there, and they may not show it but they always love. I think that is something that we tend to forget and undervalue.

yay pictures!

on a note totally unrelated to the pictures below, i would just like to say that it is cold. :) i am happy.

walking

you always hear people talk about their walk with God or walking with other christians, but so many times i think that we use that as one of our ready made church phrases that we can use, but have never taken the time to understand. i was walking to class today with a friend and i started to think about what it means to walk with someone. 

when you walk beside someone, it isn't just something that happens. there are so many little things to think about. you have to set a pace, one that you both are comfortable with. and you must agree on a destination, otherwise you either run into each other or begin to walk away. sometimes you only walk part of the way with someone, and then your paths split. does one person slow down so that the other can cross and front and go on their way, or does the person cross behind their companion? when you come to a door, does one person hold the door open for the other, or do they walk through themselves and pause to make sure the other has the door? 

then there are those funny situations that occur when people you don't know are walking around you. have you ever gotten stuck behind a slow walker when you have somewhere to be? it is one of the most frustrating things. today, a girl very slowly started walking in front of my friend and me, reading a newspaper as she walked. we had no way around her, and she was oblivious to the fact that we were there. 

walking with people is an experience. my mother always told me to walk with a purpose, to know where you are going and get yourself there. but then, sometimes the best experiences come from when you get lost or are just having fun. sometimes you need to have an adventure, and go on a walk with no planned destination to see where you end up. 

walking with someone implies a relationship. it is dynamic, always changing. it is an experience. often times, walking with someone makes you more conscious of them, and what they want. 

more random picture taking

some day, i will get a nice camera, and it will be fun. i really like taking pictures of things up close; finding a small part of a big thing and seeing it as beautiful.