Thursday, August 30, 2012

On saying goodbye to the valley

I haven't opened Microsoft Word in months, and when I did this popped up from May. Something I wrote in love, appreciation, and sorrow:

      Harrisonburg, thank You. Thank you for being my home away from home these past years. You were my home in the sense that so much was familiar. I grew accustomed to you. The way we grow accustomed to an old friend. Sure, they have flaws and you don’t spend every minute with them, but you find yourself comforted by their usual ways. I found myself comforted by the backdrop of mountains wherever I drove.
      Harrisonburg your Springs were like nothing else. Big, lush trees reaching out all along the valley. And the FALL. Oh my, the browns and reds and oranges and auburns and maroons. Like a storybook. I really enjoyed your neighboring towns like Broadway and Dayton. Who would have thought there could be so many events in such an off-the-map sort of place. People in California think I am in the sticks. But I know better. Harrisonburg is such a special place, bringing different kinds of people from all over. The steady flow of students walking to or from class. The drive down Mason street bringing back countless memories. And your size provides such lovely fellowship at a church. No mega churches here, we value community and recognizing a new face in the crowd. Thank you Harrisonburg for being just big enough to explore, and yet small enough to get to know really well. 




Saturday, August 18, 2012

On creation

God,
I am so at peace. I am SO thankful to you for the beauty you surround us with. I begin to resent what we have done with it...building sky scrapers and shopping malls and suburban neighborhoods...but I won't let those thoughts hinder my content soul. It seems like such an obvious observation and one that so many make, but I don't care. You are such an artist and You are so majestic. When people who don't believe in God look at the mountains/trees/lakes/sunsets/etc. all they get to do is simply marvel but they can give no credit, they can feel no reassurance about the loving Creator who made it. How empty. I love the verse that talks about creation speaks of God so that man is without excuse. It is so true. And today it felt like a gift. A gift for me. "Here Kelly, see Me in the pines, and the painted clouds, and the blue jays, and the breeze and know that I am God". Like you were reminding me that I can feel fulfilled by more than just the affirmation of others, or by food, or by a good book, or by success. And that this sort of peaceful fulfillment is directly from You, the God of the universe. And the automatic response is praise. Thanks for setting up these moments or hours or days when we get to quiet ourselves and just enjoy who You are and what You have made. And often, the "what" can also be loved ones who equally speak of your majesty.

Ohhhh my heart is full. I'm going to stare at the sky and mountaintops some more. You know something is crazy when I choose to sit and admire over being social and interactive ;)