And Another

How about the weather today, middle Tennessee folks? Isn't it fabulous?!

I only hope it'll hold out for the weekend for both Cliff in Cincinnati and me here in good ol' Franklin. While Cliff spends the day riding rollercoasters with his work team at Kings Island, I will make every attempt to live in the pleasure of a day to myself (what's new, right?) with some time spent at the Farmer's Market, our friends' open house to visit their new baby Lily, possibly a showing of "Mamma Mia" with Brooke, and Abby's wedding(!!!!!).

Oh, and, uh, I'm writing in a new blog. (GASP.) Don't worry, we're keeping this one. The new one, however, will be a little more focused and a little bit more of a place for me to thoughtfully express and purposefully practice writing. Like, real writing. Not the "I'm bored and have nothing else to do" or "let's tell people what we're up to" kind, but "piece together meaning and make something of it" kind. There's nothing wrong with the previous two, because they definitely have their place and I like them both. Unfortunately, I tend to default to them, though, and leave my truest desires and what challenges me most in the dust.

I know that I do the latter kind of writing here occasionally, but it needs a place of its own I think, at least for right now. For some reason, I just feel it's a bit more credible that way. So, we'll see. It seems my online persona is constantly evolving and this just feels like the right thing to do.

Heart, Hands, Feet and All

I am undone, tonight.

Tomorrow, I board a plane with four new friends and a number of strangers and set off on an adventure. And I know no other way to describe it. For the sake of not romanticizing everything, I have been focusing lately on the here and now - on the hall and door decorations for Homecoming and the friends whose company I have so enjoyed over the last few days. The second I left work this afternoon, though, the here and now seemed all too much like I had finally reached the edge. Like I was slowly approaching some precipice and before reaching it, decided to enjoy the last few steps leading to the jump.

And now it's the jump.

I am excited beyond belief; I think that could maybe characterize a number of things happening in my life right now, like the article on Relevant, the love of my life coming home in exactly thirty days, and experiencing the overwhelming life-support of my incredible family and my amazing friends - and not just in preparation for this trip. It's been the rallying, though - the calls and the lunches and the conversations and the prayers that have touched me so deeply - that leave me to sit here in tears, good tears, because of gratitude welling up in my heart.

And that is why I can go. Because the place "beyond belief" is where you have pointed me on towards. A good bit of the faith and courage I am feeling tonight (and hopefully tomorrow, and the next day... and the next) is because of you - and whether you know it or not, you are a gift of God to me. He has used you, no matter what your belief in Him is, to change me to and to spur me on and to dream bigger than I can possibly imagine; and I don't want that to end with Africa. I want to come home and remember all of this and continue on a path where change isn't about doing what is comfortable and fear isn't what keeps us from truly living, full of love and hope and courage.

I can imagine this probably all sounds a little flowery and emotionally charged, but it's the truth. And I just had to say it and will probably continue to do so, so just bear with me. Life would be easiest if we were all on the same page, but God in His irony has written us each a different story so that becomes nearly impossible; funny, though, how our stories intersect at such pivotal and yet, even trivial moments. This, well, this is a pivotal moment.

My hope is to come home changed, having seen a piece of the world and maybe leaving a piece of me there. Which means a part of you will be there, too - heart, hands, feet and all. Incredible, isn't it?

Can We Say Excited?

Hi Kristine,
I'm Cat and I am the section editor for Deeper Walk at Relevant.com. I
just wanted to drop you a line and say we are using your submission and
should be on the site within the week. Great writing!
All my best,
Cat
Cathleen Muncey
Deeper Walk Section Editor, RelevantMagazine.com

It has taken me five minutes to copy and paste that e-mail here. Not only that, but it has taken at least five more to decide what the proper response besides a beaming smile and disbelief is to something like this. Part of that response was an e-mail of thanks to Cat and (because Natalie said I could) letting you all in on the exciting news.

I have hoped for a long time that something, any bit of my writing and thought, might show up somewhere on the place that has been my homepage for years now. I have watched countless others do it - take the risk and see what happens. I finally did, submitting "Human Traffic Lanes" to Relevant for online publication, at the casual suggestion of a friend. I am grateful to him and to many others who have proved to be sometimes quiet, but always faithful supporters of a dream I too often set aside.

So thank you for reading, for critiquing, for suggesting, and for helping me believe.

Here's to what will hopefully be many more opportunities for doing just that!