Life of a Pilgrim

At least there’s no donkey

I’m feeling a bit like Mary lately.

About to pack things up and head off to an unfamiliar city. Knowing that life is about to drastically change with the arrival of a baby. Unsure about how it’s all going to play out.

But at least I’m not traveling via donkey/lots of walking. (Seriously? How uncomfortable would that be?) And I know the first place I’ll be staying – although we’re still waiting to find out if there will be room in the “inn” (aka the Ronald McDonald House). And I much prefer the birthing facilities I will have. I can say that without having even seen said birthing facilities.

But the embarking on a journey at such a pivotal (and let’s be honest, hormonal) event? Yep, can definitely relate to that. Read More

Dear Arabella (July 11, 2015)

Dear little wiggle worm,

Today your mommy and daddy had the privilege of celebrating you. You probably heard all the people talking about you, and I know you quite enjoyed the glorious spread of food. Weren’t the crepes amazing? And the scones? You had quite a few contented kicks so my guess is you enjoyed the meal just as much as me. What you couldn’t see was the beautiful presentation…gorgeous flowers in pinks, purples, and greens. Fresh sprigs of lavender. Your name hanging sweetly in the window, just in case anyone forgot the reason for the celebration. Read More

Ballast

Ballast is a heavy substance placed in such a way as to improve stability and control of a ship. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing.

Our pastor Josh has frequently mentioned that good theology is like ballast for a ship. It doesn’t prevent the storms from coming. And in great, fierce winds, it does not prevent the boat from rolling with the waves. But it keeps the boat upright. And when the storm dies down, instead of a wreckage on the floor of the ocean, you have a ship righted once again, floating securely. Read More

Tossed. Again.

Pebble Beach, on the California coast, has become quite famous for the beautiful pebbles found there. The raging white surf continually roars, thundering and pounding against the rocks on the shore. These stones are trapped in the arms of merciless waves. They are tossed, rolled, rubbed together, and ground against the sharp edges of the cliffs. Both day and night, this process of grinding continues relentlessly. And what is the result?

Tourists from around the world flock there to collect the beautiful round stones…Yet a little farther up the coast, just around the point of the cliff, is a quiet cove. Protected from the face of the ocean, sheltered from the storms, and always in the sun, the sands are covered with an abundance of pebbles never sought by the travelers…So why have these stones been left untouched? The quietness and peace have left them as they have always been – rough, unpolished, and devoid of beauty – for polish is the result of difficulties.

Streams in the Desert, July 7th

I came home last night and read those words. I don’t know if there could be a more apt description of what I was feeling than “trapped in the arms of merciless waves.” Read More

Over the mountains we go

Tomorrow we head back on that oft traveled road again. We’ll likely make a pit stop in Cle Elum for lattes and a potty break. And then into Seattle and across the toll bridge and up the road to the children’s prenatal clinic. We’ll have about two hours of imaging done – one being the echo, the other being the ultrasound. We’ll eagerly watch as numbers and weeks flash up on the screen. Then we’ll meet with the cardiologist and OB (both new to us this time) to talk about what the latest numbers might mean and how they might impact the coming weeks. Read More

She’s two!

My first baby turned two this week.

She happened to turn two just two days after a fire roared through our valley, destroying 30 homes and evacuating hundreds more. Including our own home. For the first time in my life I got to personally experience the oft-asked hypothetical question, if there was a fire what do you grab from your house? The list included mementos from China, computers and hard drives…and for my husband apparently, the vacuum cleaner. Read More

Tick Tock

Have you ever been stuck in a waiting room for what seemed like an achingly long time? With the unceasing rhythmic backdrop of the “tick tock, tick tock” of a clock – seemingly positioned to remind you that you can neither speed up nor slow down time?

That’s where I’ve been hanging out the past month. This month there have been moments where I’ve desperately wanted to speed up the tick tock of the clock. And moments where I’ve desperately wanted to slow it down.

There was the week of having my sister and her family in town all the way from Florida. Of seeing Eliana get to actually interact with her cousins for the first time (the last time she saw them she was only 8 months old) – which translated to seeing Eliana perhaps the most exuberantly happy I have ever seen her.

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