Kickin' it back in a hammock.

Hi all.

It's been a while. I've been a bit busy. The past few weeks I've been in Texas, Michigan, the mountains of North Carolina, and of course, home away from home right here in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Moving on...

The other day I was on the phone with one of my friends who also recently moved away from the beautiful landscapes of West Michigan.

"I can't find Him," I exclaimed. "I can't find God."

She then proclaimed, "Yea, but I'd rather be where you're at. These days I just forget about Him. I feel like I just left God in West Michigan. Sure, I remember Him on Sundays, or when I talk with you or a few of my other friends. But I don't remember Him. I don't think of Him throughout the week or within my day."

Ha, we argued back and forth for a bit as to who really had it worse off. Me, crying out, lost, just hoping to hear Him, feel Him; nonetheless, completely and totally frustrated with it all. Or her, simply negligent to His existence, but really overall, fine in life. Day in and day out, she's good.

By the end of the conversation, I just had to start laughing. I told my friend. "You know, I feel like we're on this Island. Both lost. I'm running around in circles. Running. Running. Running. Hands up in the air, frantically inquiring, whudda we gonna do? Whudda we gonna do? Whudda we gonna do God? Meanwhile, my friend is kicked back in a hammock, soda in hand. Again, me, running around in circles. Perhaps, we could even picture me running circles around my friend, and my friend, feet up, no apparent worries.

So I suppose we really could argue who has it worse off...me? Upset. Her? Upset that's she's not upset. But really, we're both lost in our own way.

Perhaps life is like an island. Yes, eventually a ship will sail towards home, but that's not right now. Right now there's a whole island of adventure to be explored. My friend and I are both missing out. My friend kicked back in a hammock is missing out on all the other parts of the island and all the other adventures God has to take her on. And me? I'm so frantically running about that I'm missing the world as it passes me by. If my friend would get off the hammock, she would see all that is around her, all that God wants to show her. And perhaps, if I actually took a moment and attempted to look at the hammock, even contemplate sitting on it, I could just rest a while. Maybe I just might feel the sunshine on my face. I might just feel God; I might just hear Him whisper sweet words of love in my ear.

But how do we do this? How do find a balance of actively pursuing God and yet rest in His faithfulness and goodness at the same time? I'm not really all too sure. I know He has a whole world of adventures, sights, and journeys to take us on, and yet, He doesn't want us to wind up face first in the dirt while we do it.

Trust perhaps. Perhaps we just trust that despite our own understanding, despite whatever season we're in, that it's all part of the adventure and it's all part of the process. Life is a process. We continue on. Sometimes we press forward, forgetting what is behind and sometimes we press upward, we press up and above our own understanding of the circumstance and we rejoice. We rejoice in what is...even if not what expected. We rejoice in what is to come both in this moment, the rest of today, tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.

Some day the ship will sail, but the breeze is blowing now, the sun was shining yesterday, is shining today, and will shine tomorrow. Treasures are buried waiting to be found. Butterflies are dancing around you. The adventure is at hand. Enjoy.

Cheering you on as you come to seek harder than you've ever sought before, and yet rest more than you've ever rested your whole life through.

May trust, perseverance, and joy fill your day.

Kaylee