plans to prosper you, and not to harm you

 via

it hit me yesterday while driving along the old road near my house. the one with potholes that the city keeps filling and big mud trucks keep digging back up.

the sun was low in the sky and the window was down. and from the driver's seat i could see home in the distance.

and the thought came. as clear and simple as the yellow line slipping out from under me.

don't question the story God is writing for you life. and don't discount the one He's writing for your neighbor.

i pulled into the driveway, frantically flipped through old papers and registration and lipstick in my glove compartment. from those depths i pulled out a red pen.

i sat alone in the driveway while the sun set around me, red ambers dancing on the grass.

and i wrote it down. and as i wrote, i prayed. and as i prayed, it lifted.

here it come, that heavy love, i'm never gonna move it alone

 xxx

 it takes a village.

i am a girl who delights in mornings alone. who rises with the sun and slips into a robe just to sit and stew over the hours ahead. i've learned to eat in restaurants by myself on my lunch break, next to men in business suits and construction workers with dirt on their knees. i am comfortable in an empty room, echoing house, and silent car.

but it takes a village to love. to share, spread, sprinkle the seeds.

driving to work today, i thought about the people around me. their commute. their coffee in drink wells, lipsticks in pocketbooks. was the woman stopped at the red light next to me wearing a new blouse? did she have children and if so, did it hurt her to leave them this morning? is she fighting with her husband or did she just kiss him goodbye? i turned my radio off and just watched. as mothers, sisters, husbands, uncles and boyfriends flew by me.

and i thought about all the chances, all the blessed opportunities, i have to love each of them.

to be kind. to smile. to let someone cut in front of me at the coffee counter. to consider the little burdens, boulders, and mountains they are forging through. to not question if the man on the corner is really hurting. that's one of the hardest parts, the not questioning.

it takes almost nothing for me to sit alone. to sink into a tub at the end of a long day and play my favorite songs in the comfort of my office.

but love means community. and from big cities to tiny hometowns, there's a village waiting.

angels in the outfield

about five years ago, in an interview, i was asked "if life is a baseball field, which position do you play?" after i got past my first reaction of "are you kidding me?" i softly said that i was in the outfield. i'm not the star, or the center of attention, but when something's thrown my way, i can be counted on.

two gracious bloggers this week, elisabeth from thimbles & things and jennifer from singing in the rain, have thrown a pitch my way. both have called my blog lovely, which is a gift in and of itself. both have called upon me to share a little about myself. to step onto the proverbial baseball diamond. and i promise, these answers will only be fractionally as cheesy as my interview ones. i didn't get the job, by the way. thank goodness.

1. i used to be obsessed with the dixie chicks and wanted to play the fiddle. i got one for christmas, and began lessons. at this elderly woman's house in the country. in her living room with cold hardwood floors and musty furniture. driving home with mama one day, it hit me. how immensely over the entire thing i was. just plain over it. we called the woman and explained, and she was honestly heartbroken. my brother uses the fiddle now as a makeshift banjo.

2. my handwriting changes every day. i've always wanted to be that girl with the pretty handwriting (teachers have the prettiest handwriting, have you noticed?), but i never was.

3. i completed my undergraduate degree in three years, hurrying to finish with robert so we could leave that college town, and start our life together. sitting in my advisor's office, she said, "so you're finishing early so you can go straight into your graduate school, right?" i just shook my head.

4. i once drove eight hours a week just to attend graduate classes at night at my alma mater. two hours away. it was horrible. never before have i felt the presence of the Lord so strongly tell me i was on the absolute wrong path. His hand on my heart was a physical sensation that could not be ignored, much to the chagrin of my proud self.

5. one time, robert and i drove overnight to go on a hot air balloon ride, cities away from school. we got there and the wind was too high, and they had to give us a rain check. we went to a corn maze instead. for anyone not from the south, a corn maze is exactly what you are picturing. a giant, human-sized maze. made of corn (maize, if you will).

i'm one of three children. my parents try to treat us all with the same respect, their mantra being "what you do for one, you do for all." so in the spirit of that tradition, i'm passing these accolades on to all of you. every single 272 of you.

tell me a little about yourself! baseball metaphors and all.

a little giveaway

remember this post? after i shared the pages i love to get lost in, many of you expressed an interest in one book in particular, love is a mix tape. and i don't blame you. this book is gorgeous. the love story between rob and renee is a real one. it's beautiful and serious and playful and funny and feel-it-in-your-gut sad.

so i started thinking. over a cup of warm hazelnut coffee. because that's where i do my best thinking.

what if this book could be passed around between us? around the states, around the world? what if the same spine and dustcover could travel thousands of miles, all in the name of a good story? would you guys be up for that? 

i present to you:

here's how it will work:

1. leave a comment on here and tell me your favorite love story, along with an e-mail address or link to your blog.
2. at midnight on march 6 (sunday), i will randomly choose one person and mail you the book. {note: this is a new book, not my own copy.}
3. read the book. go ahead and read it slowly and savor it.
4. pass it along. to anyone you choose. you can do a giveaway on your own blog, or just pass it to someone you think will enjoy it. but the catch is that everyone has to pass the book along. no bookshelf dust collecting!

{the really fun part: i'm going to put a little sticker in the front of the book with my name, e-mail, blog URL, and a request for new "owners" to e-mail me a brief note whenever they get the book. this way, we can keep track of where this baby ends up, and possibly do a sort of Flat Stanley series with pictures of the book in various places around the world}

i just love the idea of sharing the gift of reading. because you're all my friends, and if you can't share something like this with your friends, what are you going to do with it?

p.s. that picture of me looks a bit like a mug shot and for that, i am sorry.