Jar of Clay: Amalgamated Thoughts

An impromptu trip to Chicago should be for spontaneous fun, not because you’re told that very day that unless you do, you will not be receiving your visa in time to make your $1200 international flight and you will have to eat like $500 or $600 in changing your ticket. Long story short, 30 hours, over 800 miles, and a very grumpy agent at the consulate later, I’m guaranteed my visa. The company handling it should pick it up Wednesday and overnight Fedex it to me. That being said, this company hasn’t been very on the ball about things, so I’ll be emailing and calling them every couple hours today and again in the morning to make sure they pick it up.

Kinda foggy, but still. the buildings where we were are on my favorite blocks, close to Millennium Park!

Moms are fantastic for things like making said trip with you because you’re awful at driving in the city (really I and couldn’t have made it without her/paying for it. I appreciate her and Dad so much. I’d be absolutely lost without them.

I leave for Brazil in exactly 7 days. Holy what?! Ohjeezeohjeezeohjeeze. I’m traveling. By myself. Internationally! To Rio de Janeiro! I’m excited beyond belief, but slightly nervous. Not about traveling alone because I’ll be alone and I’m scared, but because I get lost like you wouldn’t believe. Far too easily. And I haven’t flown since I was 5, nor have I even set foot IN an airport since, so I sure as heck have no recollection how airports work. Oh boy. I hope security doesn’t tackle me because my prosthetic leg’s titanium. Hehe. That’ll be an adventure.

There’s this guy. Yeah, he’s come to mean a lot to me. I’ll spare you the Swiss and Cheddar, but I have to tell you that stopped by the side of the road and picked me a large bunch of my favorite flowers, lilies. These were the big orange tiger lilies that are currently taking over the world here in MO. Yeah, he’s pretty swell. I’m in awe of how God’s blessed me with him in my life.

It was my goal to re-read “Living God’s Love”, a book by Earl Lavender and Gary Holloway that I highly recommend to ANY Christian. Anyway, I was gonna read and journal through it, because I read it and wrote a paper/ did a presentation over it for a class I had last fall, but it holds a wealth of information and I find myself finding something new every time I pick it up. Point is, I didn’t make it through.

I also wanted to journal through a study of the Psalms with said amazing guy in 30 days. We’re not keeping on top of it, which is frustrating. I’m going to try so hard to do that on my plane ride (14 hours each way). I treasure the Psalms so much. I see the intimacy of God with His people through them, and they reveal many aspects of God’s character, which is so wonderful!

Last Monday 3 of my best friends and I traveled to Joplin to help out. I can’t get the experience out of my head. It was humbling and both heartbreaking and heartening at the same time as we saw the devastation and watched and helped people as they strived to pick up their lives. If there were one word to describe the people of Joplin it would be resilient. They’re so strong and determined to pick up the pieces to create something beautiful. I’m going back down with my best friend’s parents and hopefully some more people on Friday. We have to be down there at 7:30am, which means leaving the church at 4:30 am. W00t for early mornings. I can’t wait to see the sun rise.

I haven’t been responsible about a lot of things this summer (namely, I didn’t get a job for the 6 weeks I was home), and though I regret that, it’s been a crazy amazing summer so far and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me. I love this awful beautiful life that He’s given me and I enjoy so much getting to share a relationship with Him with His people. I LOVE IT.

Jar of Clay