[among the wildflowers]

I spent the day filling out applications for summer internships, mostly at non-profits. Locations ranged from Colorado Springs to Virginia, to right in my own backyard in Nashville. WHAT am I going to do, WHERE am I going to live this summer?! Or for that matter, the rest of my life! God has given me an artist's eye, a love for beauty. But I want to see ALL of it! Every inch of His creation, His canvas. Traveling the world--what an exciting notion, but also a stressful one for someone who is insistent upon a life, as well as day-to-day plan. A loft in the heart of old city Boston, a sea-side villa in Greece, an exquisite apartment in Paris, a cozy home among the mountains out West, autumn in New England, a life of charity and stewardship in Uganda, or just my home-grown roots of Nashville...where on earth do I belong? All invite me, calling me to share in their magic. But how can I ever have enough time to see it all, breathe it all? And who will go with me? God says when we pray for patience, He will not only give us patience, but opportunities to be patient. Well the Lord has certainly heard my prayers! Not only has he presented this opportunity for patience with summer living and working choices, but also in other areas of my life... Only through His guidance and whisper will all the answers be revealed, and I know that He will bless me beyond anything I could have ever penciled in my to-do planner. And while I long for romance to blossom in my life, and I dream of marriage and babies, I have peace knowing that I'm already in the middle of the greatest love story ever told: with my Bridegroom, my Redeemer, my Yahweh. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Heavenly Father, help me to see with Your eyes, guard my heart, and protect me from myself and my human nature to settle for what is less than You.
I love language like I love the own air I breathe: it is the overflowing of the soul, just another illustration of the beauty and wonder of God's Kingdom. So, I finally gave in and decided to keep a blog. I'm not sure where this is going-- how personal it will get, who will read it, how often I will write...but I hope to out-pour my consuming love for Christ every time I pick up a pen....er, punch away on the keyboard. So much like my future (vocation, location...beloved) the ending location of this blog is unknown. But they say it's more about the journey than the destination, right? That's why I've titled my blog with some of my favorite lyrics: "You belong among the wildflowers, you belong in a boat at sea. You belong with your love on your arm, you belong somewhere you feel free." So while I'm in the wilderness of solitude and uncertainty, I trust that God will teach me about his faithfulness while he melts my heart into a patient one and orchestrates my destiny. Maybe my wilderness will have wildflowers of its own. ;-)