Moving

These past few days have been crazy! I never realized how stressful moving was. You have to decide whether or not you can bring that favorite stuffed animal (or the other 20 favorites!), or if he has to stay home. Then you realize, wait, home? What really is home? You are moving; home is where you are moving, right? But then home is where the stuff is, so if you leave half your stuff back at your childhood home, which one is actually home? It is a vicious cycle really. I don’t think that I have fully accepted the fact that I am moving yet. It all still seems so unreal. Yet in two days from now I will be in Tacoma, and then in three days I will be all moved in, with grand new adventures sitting at my doorstep waiting to be released. There is so much in Spokane that I will miss though. The friendships that I have made over the many years of living here are not easily let go. While I know that I will be back, it is a bittersweet thought that those friendships may dwindle away. The last thing I want to do is to forget my friends back home, but I know that I must make the transition and know that if we are truly friends we will make it work and keep in touch. Whatever happens I will never forget the fond memories I have. Life is all about meeting people and then having to say goodbye. No matter how much I may dislike it, goodbyes are inevitable. In just a few short hours my life will be packed into boxes. I will be saying goodbye to family, friends, and Spokane, the only home I have ever known in my life. I am excited for college; I have been told countless times that it is an unforgettable and life-changing experience. I have also been told that it is a blast and a half and to enjoy it all. Oh yeah, it’s also school, apparently it is hard work, but to be intellectually stimulated in an environment where everyone is there because they want to be there, and you are studying something that will help determine what you are going to do with the rest of your life, wow! What an exciting and amazing concept! It may be difficult, but I am so ready for it. I have resolved that I am not going to be one of those college students that parties all day and night, but I also will not be one of those college students that only studies, it’s all about balance! And I think I am ready for it. So goodbye Spokane, I’ll come back and visit, don’t worry, and hello Tacoma, bring it on!

Vain Pursuits

The past couple of weeks in youth group we have been going through the book of Ecclesiastes. Tonight we were going through chapter 4 and Nick encouraged us to memorize the sixth verse:

“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil
and a striving after wind.”

Now this verse is more of a challenge than anything else. It is a challenge towards simple living; a challenge towards not pursuing vain materialistic wants that will lead us nowhere; a challenge towards looking past our want to serve others. I have found it that when we force ourselves to step out of our comfort zones and do something for another person completely out of their interest and not our own that we tend to grow the most, spiritually and emotionally. It takes a person far greater than I to live a completely selfless life, but they are always the ones that are happiest. The person that completely takes this verse to heart may have the least material belongings, but they have the most joy and peace in their life. Everyone has these people in their lives, the pure, honest, nothing but loving soul, who would do anything for you at the beat of a heart. It seems frustrating to me that anyone could be so perfect, but honestly they aren’t perfect either, and ironically they would be the first to admit that. This reminds me of a story I once heard of how natives used to catch monkeys. They would take a container of some sort with a small opening and put a small fruit or shiny stone in the opening then connect it to a tree. The monkey would see the treasure and try to get it. They easily slip in their hand grasp the item then try to pull it out, their fist stuck. Being the stubborn creature that they are, they won’t let go, then get captured themselves. If the monkey would only let go, it would get away, but instead it vainly will hold on to its materialistic item and get captured because of it. So would you rather vainly toil towards something that will eventually pass away and mean nothing, or enjoy life for what you have already been blessed with?

A Little Bit of Heaven on Earth

So you know those times that you see something that is so astoundingly beautiful that it just takes your breath away. All that you can do is to sit in awe and amazement. The whole world may be crashing around you but you only have eyes for that thing that has completely enveloped your thoughts and attention. God blesses us daily with these little doses of his beauty, sometimes we just need to slow down and take advantage of these blessings. Sometimes it comes like a slap in the face, you look up from what you are doing and just fall back in amazement and all you want to do is to share that amazement with everyone around you. Today while at work I was reminded again of the beauty of God’s creation. I was stationed at the top of the slide and just sitting in awe looking at the beauty and majesty and glory of the heavens. Each and every cloud was immaculately placed in the sky each tendril carefully painted against the backdrop of deep blue. It made me think, “Wow who am I to deserve this, my God is so amazing, I am so blessed.” It was like a little glimpse of heaven on earth. And the sunset, oh the sunset. The rays of sun stretched towards the sky simply begging to be adored and noticed. The pastel sky was contrasted by the black clouds and the brilliance of the red sun. You could tell that a storm was coming, but didn’t care because it was all so gorgeous. I wished that it would never end, that the sun and the clouds would just stop, that the whole world would stand still and revel in the glory of God’s majesty in that moment forever. I will never forget the beauty of it all. We are truly blessed!

Why I am here.

For awhile now I have been told that I should get a blog. In just a few weeks, I shall be moving away from all that I know to a new and exciting city. My life in Spokane is soon to be drastically changed and I am leaving many close friends behind. I have created this blog in order to easily update friends and family on what I think, say, and do. You may want to buckle your seatbelts, its going to be a bumpy ride!