enjoy becoming.

Today I got to do so many things I enjoy:

• Went to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned (I really do love this :))
• Ate lunch with my family.
• Went for a run.
• Played piano.
• Bought a few new songs.
• Started reading a new book.
• Saw a movie with my mom. 
• Started a craft project.

So many good things have made this visit just what I needed.
And I just really love my family.

My dental hygienist is really someone wonderful.  The mother of three and a lover of Jesus, she shared with me today that her clients are the reason that she keeps doing what she's doing.  She thanked me for sharing my faith with her, for allowing her to see into my life a little bit, to share how God has been working.  Astonishment and tears dominated our conversation as we talked about God is moving, but about how much brokenness there is in these teens I work with.  It all started when she asked if we could somehow implement a flossing program at Shelterwood and I had to inform her that we aren't even allowed to have dental floss because of its potential for harm.

I think the girls at Shelterwood are really creative.  Really very creative in the ways they sneak around, how they sneak in their vices, and in the ways that they manipulate.  Honestly, it still is surprising.

I find myself thinking in similar ways.  How can I speed without getting caught?  I'm tired.. How can I be a little bit lazy today without it looking like I'm being lazy?  We try to get away with little things that compromise our integrity.  We try to manipulate God and others to see us as something other than we are, instead of being the wonders that God created us to be.

S tells me regularly that Shelterwood has allowed her to be more and more of who she really is.  It has stripped her of all the things she put on herself, things she did to be accepted, the character traits she showed to gain approval.  She has become more and more of who God created her to be.

We, too, are always becoming, caught in the "already, but not yet" of redemption and the Kingdom of God.  This life here sure is interesting, as we navigate what it means to live well here while looking at what is to come.


Sometimes my writing turns into a kind of stream-of-consciousness post, instead of a topical thing as I intend.  I think I'm okay with it.