Tag Archive - God’s best for me

2. embrace the in-between feeling. [twenty truths]

July 9, 2012 in 20-something troubles, lessons learned, stories with 2 Comments

Twenty-Something Truths For Twenty-Somethings 

truth number [2] today from the blog series hosted by myself and my dear friend Kristin! please join the conversation as we continue to unpack our twenties, and the truths we have found thus far. what have you learned so far? <3 <3 <3

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That “in between” feeling you have? It means you want something out of life. One day you will miss the time when you actually wanted something out of life.

 

There is wandering and there is floundering. There is taking a longer time to grow up, and choosing to stay a child. There is making sacrifices in order to achieve a dream, and there is settling for less than you thought you wanted.

There’s a smoothie and there’s juice.

A smoothie is juice + pulp and rind and skin. A smoothie contains things that are nourishing, but it is crowded with things that have no nutritional value. You get so filled with the extra stuff, that you miss out on the things that actually matter.

Juice is juice + nothing. Juice is the raw, pure, unadulterated nutritional goodness that your body needs to feel alive. There’s no extra weight in there; it’s 100% truth.

There is a vast difference between all of these things. And in that difference, in that in-between, lies a zest and zeal to squeeze all the value out of life, throwing away the pulp. You were designed to feel this awkward because it drives you to find life.

So, embrace the awkward. Keep tapping into you thirst for more, for different, for better. Drink the entirety of life, and don’t allow anything (or anyone!) to crowd the space you have designated for enjoyment. Don’t miss out the nutrition because of all the extra.

the [pearl] necklace.

March 14, 2011 in jesus, lessons learned, my story, stories with 0 Comments

 

the cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.

“oh please, mommy. can i have them? please, mommy, please!”

quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.

“a dollar ninety-five. that’s almost $2.00. ff you really want them, i’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. your birthday’s only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from grandma.”

as soon as lily got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. after dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked mrs. mcjames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.

on her birthday, grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.

lily loved her pearls. they made her feel dressed up and grown up. she wore them everywhere — sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. the only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.

lily had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. one night when he finished the story, he asked lily, “my darling lily, do you love me?”

“oh yes, daddy. you know that i love you.”

“then give me your pearls.”

“oh, daddy, not my pearls. but you can have princess–the white horse from my collection. the one with the pink tail. remember, daddy? the one you gave me. she’s my favorite.”

“that’s okay, honey. daddy loves you. good night.” and he brushed her cheek with a kiss.

about a week later, after the story time, lily’s daddy asked again, “do you love me?”

“daddy, you know i love you.”

“then give me your pearls.”

“oh daddy, not my pearls. but you can have my babydoll. the brand new one i got for my birthday. she is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper.”

“that’s okay. sleep well. God bless you, little one. daddy loves you.” and as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.

a few nights later when her daddy came in, lily was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed indian-style. as he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.

“what is it, lily? what’s the matter?”

lily didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. and when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. with a little quiver, she finally said, “here, daddy. it’s for you.”

with tears gathering in his own eyes, lily’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to lily.

he had them all the time. he was just waiting for her to give up the dime-store stuff so he could give her genuine treasure.

he looked at lily, and with loving kindness in his eyes, he said, “my darling lily. do you think i would ever ask you to give me that which you cherish so much, if i didn’t have something even greater for you in return?”