5/31 Thankful List

 -Making homemade ricotta cheese and taking it over to Andrew and Donald's place for pizza night/movie night.

-Slow mornings 

-My new roommate, Ambria - I really really like her and am actually super thankful that she moved in this past weekend. Looking forward to getting to know her.

-Spontaneous hangout with Matt & Jane - I swung by Foxtrot Market and grabbed some Levain cookies and took them over to the Chia's house. We sat around drinking coffee/tea and eating cookies and it was so lovely to just sit and hang out with them.

-Looking forward to flying to SLC this Saturday!!! Thankful for opportunities to get away and visit family.

 

5/26 Thankful List

 -Going over to Em's house on Monday evening to hear Ashanti give his vision pitch; sitting on the rooftop porch with Emily after and enjoying the beautiful evening catching up with her. Laughing with Em and just being weird with her (mostly me being weird). 

-Laughing at work and being silly.

-Caitlin will be moving to Mexico to provide birthing services to the Tarahumara tribe and Liz hosted a time and space for Caitlin to provide an info session. Convicted by Caitlin's obedience and boldness in leaving everything she knows here in the United States to serve the indigenous Tarahumara community in Mexico. Like woah. I'm excited to walk with her and support her financially and also through prayer. 

-Liz's vegan enchiladas and her hospitality. 

-I finally got to give Lisa her b-day present (two years late - oh well better late than never).

5/24 Thankful List

 -Catching up with Susie and being able to connect with her in person yesterday. I didn't realize how much I missed her until I was actually in her presence! Truly, the pandemic was such a black hole and we realized as we were talking that it had been a full year since the last time we truly hung out with each other. 

-Poetry as a way of expressing things I cannot otherwise express 

-Smooth vaccination day; so so thankful for coworkers who I can call my work family

-On my way to the second vaccination site, I stopped by a place called Tai Chi Bubble tea and ordered honeydew milk tea - my drink came with something called yogurt boba and OMG. My eyes popped out of my head because the drink was so good. It was basically a Melona bar in drink form with boba that has yakult inside the boba. It was so melon-y and refreshing and the yogurt boba was so tangy and nice. Yum.

 

-I finally ordered a new pair of glasses off of Warby Parker! And thankfully, it didn't break my wallet. I've had my current pair for 6 years and I feel like one day, it's just going to snap at the hinges. Looking forward to a pair that has nose bridges and won't constantly slip down my face. 

-My flight to SLC is less than 2 weeks away - I am looking forward to one-on-one time with my sister and mom and also friends from Chicago visiting. The last time I went on a trip was back in O C T O B E R. Holy crap. 

All Things Hold

All things hold 

when my spirit is weak

and trembles at the notion of 

continued existence without a father. 

All things hold 

when my heart is like a 

desert: raw, burnt, lifeless 

I roam the land 

All things hold 

when to live is to continue to 

live in weakness, wholly dependent 

on Creator 

This poem is the truest reflection of where I am at right now. It is messy; indeed, I am messy. It is a manifestation of my reflections on Colossians 1:17. I pray that the Lord meets me in this season where nothing else can possibly satisfy. This is my prayer for myself. 

These caverns need not be filled 

with vacuous noise -

I wish to be attuned to 

the whispers of earth and sky 

to the ancient of ancients &

the nudging of something age-old.

You speak in the silence and 

remind me that you you knew me before I knew me,

before I became all too familiar with 

my inability to wholeheartedly love.

These silent stones speak of mercy and justice,

of love that met dust and sweat and blood 

perspired in the heat of the sun

bled under a crown of thorns. 

You speak to my 

hardheartedness, and ask me to be still 

in the cavernous spaces of resounding echoes 

of who you are, Alpha & Omega

Beginning and end, you are transcendent one 

who tasted grimy earth as incarnate flesh.

And your pierced palms push pause 

on my constant questions 

of whether or not I am beloved.