Life is so funny.. the whole school year i kept thinking that once summer hit, my life would slow down and i would have free time to do things. you know normal things, like sleep. but in regular chelsey fashion i instead decided the best thing would be to keep committing to things so that i stay real busy. i stay out of trouble that way. dont get me wrong though, i LOVE what i am doing.. i get to nanny some of the best kids, i am on staff with a fantastic Student Ministries team and i get to pour into students on a daily basis. I get to jump in a pool and teach swim lessons, meet w/ people over coffee to hear how they are doing... i love it. but its busy.
I am realizing that my heartbeat is truly for people. it energizes me, fills my cup and i leave a deep conversation w/ someone feeling truly refreshed and loved. He has continued to bring people into my life for whatever reason who challenge me and cause me to lean on Him in a greater way. for that i am thankful. The last several months i had a great opportunity to live w/ a girl who truly challenged me and called me out on crap that only a true friend would care to have those hard conversations with. I am thankful for that sweet season, and as life has already started pulling her in a different direction, it will be a hard transition seeing her move away knowing that there is no point where she will definitely come back. But i am also thankful for the girls he continues to bring in my life as sweet little surprises. i feel like the Lord drops someone in my life w/ a smile and "your welcome chels... have fun".
Today as i was working (before i got sidetracked w/ the whole blog idea... but dont worry.. i finished all my work before i started this.) i was listening to Miranda Lamberts "the house that built me"... easily one of my favorite songs right now... but it gets me thinking... you know those things that just trigger memories? i started thinking about summers. when i think summer there are certain things that come to my mind. i think of the quincy house that i grew up at. We never really used air conditioning, but we had a whole house fan that my parents would turn on at the crack of dawn. it was loud, and they would come around opening all our windows. i remember walking into the kitchen, the windows all open, air blowing in, you could hear the pool sweep on and the little water fall flowing.. i would wander around the house, and eventually either find my mom in her room sitting in the lazyboy spending time w/ jesus, or sitting on the swing out on the patio drinking a cup of coffee with my dad. o the swing. 99.8% of our really good conversations happened out on that swing. from relationships, to friendships, school, sports, church, feelings, consequences, to just snuggle time.. thats where life was done. when there was nothing left to be said... the silence became the reassurance that no matter what.. they would always still be sitting there. i can remember many big decisions that came as a result of the swing. from going to fiji that first year, to deciding where i would go to bible college, to talking out our fears about the cancer... there was never a subject off limits. from the moment i decided i wanted a family one day, the swing has always been a necessity that i have realized i will have.
What i have learned from my parents to do w/ my kids:
- that i will drop everything when you come home and make convo w/ you a priority
-you will never leave the house without saying i love you and giving me a hug. (i remember having to turn the car around and go back home because i walked out w.out doing that)
-i chose you. God gave me all the choices of kids in the world, and i picked you exactly how you are
-i love your friends like they were my own. but i will always love you more.
-works never important enough to miss your games
-rice and walnuts.
-you are loved beyond comprehension.
a dad of some kids i hung w/ for a weekend was amazed at how much i looked like my mom, from the hair to the way i interacted... but because of that it gave him a sense of security for me to have his kids while they were gone... thats when you know someone left a legacy. when because of the way you lived your life people give your offspring instant trust. i miss my mamma beyond anything you could ever imagine, but i am thankful for what she passed on in the time she had. sigh.. back to work.
