A Little Prayer and Laughter

I’m back! Back from the lovely yet unpredictable mountains. Good to be home...So, earlier this afternoon me and God were having a little heart to heart to heart, and I just thought I’d share a tad of what went down. This may be hard to believe, being as the fact that I’m such a naturally happy and positive person and all, but I have been having some crazy stressful/unhappy/frustrating situations thrown my way over the past few months. Life’s junk, and all that. So, like many days lately, I found myself deep in prayer. But today, I started telling God what all I “need” in my life. Some of you reading this are probably thinking something like “Silly Claire! God is ALL you need.” And ok, I know that’s true in essence, but I’m only human…Anyway, there I was bearing my soul to Jesus. And then it hit me like a rock. I could almost hear God laughing at me (good naturedly of course). Because the thing is, what I think I “need” for my life has nothing to do with what God knows I truly need. What I was really doing was “wanting”-wanting a quick fix, a perfect solution, a heal-all band aid to all the issues at once. And the fact is, a solution like that would be great, but would it really benefit me as a person? Maybe for a while, but it certainly wouldn’t help me grow as a person, in my faith, or prepare me for the future. So, I quickly apologized for my needy pity party, and instead asked for guidance through the situations, and that doors would open to start the process of putting my life in the right place. And I would love to tell you that after I was reminded of this lesson, that magical “mega solution” to all of my issues that I was hoping for appeared. But nope… And that’s ok with me. Because even though I’m still quite frustrated, I know that God DID hear me. He was laughing wasn’t he? :) And that means that sooner or later something’s gonna give. So for now, even though its not easy in the least bit, I’m going to be still, and find peace in knowing that HE IS GOD, so whatever he has planned has got to be awesome.

Paradise? Maybe Not...

Whew. Talk about a weird morning…Day 2 of mountain excursion thus far: I woke up at 2:30 am, and I was blind. It was as black as tar, and I couldn’t see the digital clock. I freaked out, sitting bolt upright in bed, trying not to yell. Only then did I realize that the power had gone out. Yeah, I’m stupid, I know. But let me just say- Power outages in Charlotte have NOTHING on the ones in the mountains. I mean, there is dark, and then there is DARK….anyways, I stumbled around my room and finally found my phone, and had a tiny bit of light as well as a working clock. The power came back on about two hours later…So then there’s this morning. I get up, and go down stairs, where my grandma just points for me to go onto the deck of the house. There, laying right by the sliding glass door, is a gigantic dead possum. Talk about randomly gross. Needless to say, I was not prepared to see that, and flipped out a little. We are currently waiting for the city to come pick up the critter….So, that’s my morning at a glance. It kind of puts my blogpost from yesterday into perspective a tad. But ah well. I’m still loving it up here. Dead possum and all.

"Almost Paradise"

Being kidnapped is amazing. Currently, I am looking out over a backyard that is bursting with color, and it is only 80 degrees. The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing. It truly is beautiful- like something you would see in a movie. Words can’t even capture it… Yesterday, I decided on a whim to go up to the mountains with my grandmother, Mudde. And thus far, it has been a relaxing blast. I have wanted to come up here for a really long time (since April, to be exact) , but I just haven’t gotten the chance. So, when my grandma stopped by on her way up to her house in Black Mountain, how could I refuse the offer to hitch a ride? So, its just me and her, eating, shopping, reading, watching some good TV, sleeping, and talking ALOT. And after being here for one day, I am reassured that the saying “life’s better in the mountains” is 100% true. Its cooler than the boiling summer days in the city, its gorgeous, and its an all around slower pace. Its not boring either, as some would suspect. Its just plain tranquil. Also, with all of the pretty views of mountain peaks around, God’s creation is so naturally glorified. And up here, I really do feel a little bit closer to heaven…cheesy? Maybe. But still….I need to get up here a lot more. Its good for me I think, just to “sloooowww down”, even if its just for a day or two. Anyway, as you can CLEARLY see, I am loving a summer day up here. Thank goodness for grandmas.

Tick, Tock, Tick,Tock

I have neglected this blog for a few days- my apologies. I have been busy, working, and thinking a lot more than usual. One of the random (but interesting) things I’ve been thinking about a lot is the idea of time. In my opinion, time is the most powerful variable in a human life. It marches onward, no matter what. There is no going back in time, nor is there speeding time forward. It is always changing, and yet its measurements never get larger. A second is always a second. I guess you could say it’s a changing constant. It leaves its mark with the turning of calendar pages or wrinkles on faces. And it is in the way that we chose to use it that time gains its power. Because, as I have noticed, it is time itself, that causes most human’s to become preoccupied. People get frustrated, because they wasted their time on something or someone for far to long. Or, people are regretful because they didn’t put enough time aside for something that really is important. Often there “isn’t enough time” in the day to get things done. “it just wasn’t the right time” is a phrase that feasts on the ideas of what might have been and can cause a person to go mad. As I live my life, the deep value of time becomes more apparent, as well as the stress that time itself can cause. And the more I look at it, the more I realize that just living in the moment can relieve a bit of that stress. And the idea of perfect timing? Yeah, its MUCH more possible if your not to busy dwelling on all the wasted time in your past or all you have to do in the future. And one last thing that everyone has to come to grips with- no matter how much you want it to, time stops for no one.

Long Live the Crab

We had a bit of an ordeal today. I am grieved to report that on June 18, 2009, Jack Hilton’s beloved crab was killed. Ok…so it may not seem like that big of a deal, but to a 7 year old, the death of a pet is traumatic. Although this wasn’t the first pet that Jack had seen die, it was the first pet that was HIS that has passed away. And can I just say, as gross as that little red thing was, Jack loved it. Being like a mini zoo keeper, he earned it (along with another little different type of crab) as his kindergarten graduation present. And he has been infatuated with them ever since. So, when I came in from work today and heard, my heart went out to him. Its hard to watch a little kid deal with the concept of death, even if it is just a crab. Because to Jack, the crab was his responsibility, his friend. Its truly a deep thing to behold. There is nothing more genuine than the emotion of a child. You can see exactly what’s on their hearts by looking at their faces….But then of course, with promises of a brand new crab, the sorrow etched across his face was replaced with excitement for the new that’s to come. And all sad thoughts of what was lost is forgotten. *sigh. If only it was that easy as you get older..... Oh well. That was my little deep contemplation for the day. Guess what? Only one class left of Jr. Seminar tomorrow! And I’m PUMPED!!!

The Sight at the Pool

After spending the past few afternoons at work at the pool, and then at swim meets, I am now convinced of one thing- there is nothing more entertaining than watching little kids swim, especially when they’re racing. They’re just so determined to go fast! So they dive off the block and speed for about 20 seconds, only to get tired, and poop out. Then it’s a race of the turtles to the end. The idea of pacing themselves is foreign. And butterfly is even better. Imagine it: 8 lands full of 7 year olds, flapping their arms in no recognizable way whatsoever. You would think they were drowning, except for the fact that they’re inching their way to the other side into the waiting arms of the timers and parents at the meet. Trust me, its quite the sight to see….and I get to see it again tomorrow night at another swim meet. My little brother is swimming in it. The way he’s been talking about his events and times, you would think he was in the Olympics. Oh well, he’s just getting excited and competitive….hmmm….I wonder who that sounds like?

My Little Joke For The Day

The SAT and ACT are the most pointless tests I have ever come in contact with. We had to take a combo test today in jr. seminar to see which of the two we’re better at taking. And four hours of scantronny goodness later, I am left feeling incredibly stupid. It wasn’t that it was hard (the math was a tad bit hard, but whatever) …just that is was all such fruitless information. It amazes me that college boards make a decision as to whether or not you are accepted to their university based off of it. I know it measures your potential, or whatever, but I don’t see how your knowledge of being able to comprehend the trends of the Japanese kuzco plant, or the history of the democracies of minor countries is really going to matter in the long run. In my opinion, what matters is who you are as a person, and a college can’t gain that knowledge by a score….the only thing you really gain by taking it is a couple of numbers and bragging rights to all your nerdy friends. Now, I say all this, but I know that come this fall when I take these tests for real, I will be stressing and stewing and sweating it out along with the rest of the upper classmen. But for today, I’m laughing at the headaches it causes. HA!