Stuck

Ever have one of those days where you feel stuck...and you're like, "wait, how did I get here??" or rather, "why do I feel like I'm always in this same place?" (like the excruciating movie Groundhog Day.) I'm having one of those days. I feel like no matter how many dishes I do, there are still more. Same thing with laundry and picking up the trail behind my 15 month old love.

But the worst part is feeling stuck spiritually. I constantly neglect the NECESSARY things for those that are trivial. Like dishes instead of Bible Study or prayer. I know there are many reasons for this...laziness, pride (not wanting to sit down and spill my junk in confession before the Lord), distraction, guilt....So each morning I say to myself, "when Lily goes down for her morning nap I'm working on my Bible study..." or "when Lily goes down tonight I'm going to spend some significant time praying..." and somehow it falls by the wayside. Like right now. I'm blogging. She's sleeping.

Thankfully I serve a God of grace, and One who doesn't leave me to figure it all out on my own. My prayer for today is simply that he would help me to do what pleases Him in each moment...that my heart would love Him more by the time I go to bed tonight, that my faith would be a little bit stronger and that I look a little more like Jesus. Praise to the One who doesn't desire to see us stuck!

Normal?

Comments like these have become normal to me, so much so that I don't even notice them anymore...but every once in a while, I realize that they're actually kind of funny...

"This be my Bible teacher Mrs. Johnston. She's my best Bible teacher, well she be my only Bible teacher, but she still da best. She be teaching us everything we be knowin' in Bible."

Me: Who is walking like a big boy or big girl down the hallway, with hands behind their backs and mouths closed?
A few 3 year olds: I'ma is!!!!

"Ugh! Mrs. Johnston! That boy always gotta be markin' me!" (she meant mocking)

friend keepers

I went to a shower today for one of my dearest and longest friends ever. Her name is Katie, too. We'll call her Katie N. And our other friend Katie was there as well - she'll be Katie S. So, today was a reunion of the Ka(y)tie's so to speak. KAtie N lives in NY, Katie S lives in Dallas...so we are rarely together. We are currently celebrating Katie N's engagement and I couldn't be more thrilled for her.

Today after Katie N opened her gifts, her mother prayed a prayer of thanks to the Lord for His goodness and love that has been shown to us through a roomful of friends gathered together to celebrate with Katie. She thanked God that he has given them the desire to be "friend keepers." I thought a lot about that phrase as I was driving home and I had one of those rare, completely happy moments by myself in the car.

When I am around my Katies, I am reminded of where I come from, and who it is that I want to be. I am able to see growth between my past and my present, without feeling discouraged over the areas in which I still have such a long way to go. I feel safe, and comfortable and I laugh a lot. My problems don't seem so big around them. I don't feel insecure or self conscious. I think ultimately these are blessings from God because He has mercifully made our friendships wide across time, but also given them great depth...and in so doing, He has loved us through each other.

So, here's to being friend keepers.