hope & spring

i haven't written much lately
i try to be careful not to write much when i'm processing
because i find that if i write when i'm too passionate about something, or too frustrated, or even too apathetic.. it doesn't do anyone any good. and it can make me look pretty crazy. so i save that type of writing for the insides of my journal. a place to process in safety.

i have been feeling overwhelmed lately. by emotions, life situations, cat hair & general life messiness. BUT i have been feeling revitalized by spring.

there will always be part of life that is messier than other parts. i've never met anyone with a perfect life (sorry to any of you that thought you were fooling me!)

i watched the movie "soul surfer" the other day with my sister phoebe & we both basically cried our way through it. it was a beautiful story of hope, perseverance, faith, family & choosing to embrace life no matter what is thrown at you. it is based on the true story of the pro-surfer, Beth Hamilton. when she was a teenager she was attacked by a 14 foot tiger shark while surfing. the shark bit off her entire left arm basically at the shoulder. she goes on to continue pursuing surfing and keeping her faith in God. it is amazing & inspiring.

at one point in the movie, sarah, beth's youth leader, is teaching a sunday school lesson about how hard it can be to have a full perspective of something when you are too close. it can be hard to see outside of our situation, circumstance or even emotion when we are too close. sometimes we need to step back, gain another perspective & just allow space to see what we should do next, or what is the best way to move forward. i often feel that that is true for me. and i have been feeling like i need to take some time & space to figure some things out. life is hard! but we have hope.

spring. refreshing. life giving. new.
but still dirty & messy.
slushy & a lot of work.
but within all of that mess - the world turns back to green.
plants push up from the ground
and life is fragrant.
hope!

the day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

-bern williams