Focal Moments

Although it has only been a few days since I traded plows for palms and boots for bikinis, when I think about last week, I get that same sense of nostalgia as if it happened years ago. In life, we are given focal points that help us ascribe meaning to moments; glimpses at Kingdom realities offering hope for life here on earth. Arthur Boers, author of The Way is Made by Walking, selects moments such as these with four affirmations:

There is no place I would rather be.
There is nothing I would rather do.
There is no one I would rather be with.
This I will remember well.

When these statements are affirmed, our world becomes illuminated with life-giving possibilities and our attention is turned to what's important. Moments such as these provide glimpses of the Good Life... The life we dream of and so easily lose sight of; the life we long to bottle up and store forever.

The first night I arrived: pina coladas and margaritas at Fair Weather rooftop bar

Roadtrip Crew to Newport Beach

Moments of kicking off our shoes and running into the sand to catch the last orangey hues of our first sunset together... gathering around our sunny patio table with mimosas in hand, exchanging questions and answers from deep within us... running into roaring ocean waves with a connected acknowledgement of our minuteness in the great vastness of the world... meals like a family seated around the table with that warm dinner aroma floating through the home... the anticipation of camaraderie and competition before racing a half-marathon with the people who challenge and encourage me the most... the cool air from the sea sweeping over the hot sand as a volleyball is bumped back and forth into lost evening light... cozying on the couch as we uncover games of our youth and play them until the wee hours of the morning... looking around and noticing all your best friends are in one place and disappearing together into a world where time melts away and life becomes as simple as sand and sleep.

Painted colors in the sky

Manmosas... Mimosas... Table Topics.

Coffee and conversation and feet in the sand

Volleyball on the backdrop of waves crashing and sun setting 

With every weekend such as this, there is the tension of living presently to soak it in while living in the future of mourning its end. It didn't help that while we were laying on the beach of SoCal dodging waves and lathering sunscreen, Chicago experienced the fifth worst snowfall of all time accumulating more than 18 inches and offering the city a Monday Snow Day. Was there anything convincing us to go back??!

Bro/Sis Half Marathon

Finishers!

I love these guys.

Mafia accusations

Our last morning together, we sat around with coffee and cinnamon rolls to share these moments... we remembered Togetherness and Community and Purpose... We lived in gratitude for a weekend that gave us such close glimpses of what this truly means.

I consider myself the luckiest of the crew to have my dearheart Suzy as my San Diego home, to whom I returned on Monday as if I were returning back to my actual place of residence. The way I describe Life with Suzy is that there is an always an adventure waiting to happen. I tend to gravitate towards people like this (cue: my brother Daniel) because they seem to effortlessly invite you into a vision of life as a playground where days are carefree and easy, offering endless possibilities, ideas, and explorations that have not yet been lived. Whether getting lost in dreamy bookstores, consuming mass quantitates of acai, or sipping on mid-day cocktails surrounded by a garden of succulents, life with Suzy is my favorite kind of life.

Getting lost in shelves of books is my favorite thing to do with this love

I could live on acai and burritos forever

Even Suzy's rough drafts are works of art.

Getting lost in all the dreamy places

Blankets, parks, and drinks...

These little mementos from Suz will sit on my desk to give me reminders of such good days.

Those that know me here know that when I said goodbye to sandals and blue sky to return to the frozen tundra of February, a piece of me stayed on the west coast. For this reason, I've been met with the question: Okay... so when are you moving to San Diego?!

One thing I hate about Chicago is how much I love it.

Looking out at the snow and daydreaming of the green, I ask myself WHY. But I know that the cycle of the seasons does something for my soul that I can't shake... it gives me a rhythm of slowing down and resting in winter so that I can street festival and beach in the summer... it shows me that life is still present in death and all things are made new. It reminds me of the faithfulness of the Creator to always bring spring, forces me to be thankful in desolate times, and gives me a free pass to watch marathons of Friends for days on days. I love the sun, but I crave the change that is offered to me every few months here in this city. It also helps that the people here are My People, and for that I am the most thankful.

Memories made this past week are ones I will live on for a long long time.