Beautiful Things

Driving to and from Richmond in this past day, I watched the world fly by outside my windows and thought about God and all His goodness. Yesterday afternoon, driving home while the sun was setting, I saw the best, big tree in the middle of a wide open field, and I wished I could have stopped and just looked at it for a while. I kept driving and just let my mind wander.

Trees in the middle of winter are beautiful. The world looks at them and thinks they look dead and depressing- they've lost their leaves and they're mere skeletons of the fullness they once were. But they're beautiful. They've gone through seasons of fruitfulness and beauty, seasons of warmth and light and growth. And now, they're in a new season. They're in a time of drawing back, of releasing leaves, of enduring the bitter cold and the gray, dreary skies, and of spending energy growing deeper, stronger roots.

Seeing so many of these barren trees silhouetted against the watercolor sky reminded me of my life, and the Gungor song "Beautiful Things."

Go ahead, click the link, play the song, and keep reading.

There are times when I look at myself and my life and just feel dead and depressed. I feel like how those trees look in the winter. I don't feel like my life is producing fruit and showing His beauty and goodness, and I feel like a skeleton of who He has made me to be.

But, we have a Creator who made us beautiful. He made us in His image (that really blows my mind, honestly), and He is beauty we cannot even imagine. If we are like Him in any small way, we are then shaped and molded by Him to be beautiful in our own ways, too.

The year goes by in seasons. Life, too, goes by in seasons. Winter seasons, with gloomy days and bitter cold winds and colorless scenic drives, bring us to spring seasons, with hope springing up from old ground, beautiful things coming out of the dust and the darkness, and renewed life and joy.

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

There are times just as often that I look at my life and am amazed at all the good things that are happening. I'm in awe of how my God is providing and answering prayers and using me to be a part of something incredible going on in His kingdom. I see fruit coming about in my relationships, I see new things being born and passions being stirred and provoked in my heart. And in those seasons, I know how much I needed to go through the winter to feel the depth and width of the goodness of the spring.


Rest in the comfort that He is making You new in this season, whatever it may be. He is growing you, deepening your roots further into all that He is, preparing you for new life, new joy, new hope, and new beauty.

Things I'm looking forward to about the States

I've started to realize there are quite a few random things I'm really looking forward to about being back in the States. Friends and my family, you're a given.

Here they are.

1. Air conditioning.
2. Ice. Ice water. Ice all the time. Ice whenever I want ice.
3. My shower that has room for me to actually move around
4. Dishwashers. I've hand washed entirely too many dishes this summer and have really come to miss and appreciate dishwashers
5. Cell phone service, texting, iMessaging, not needing wifi to be able to talk to everyone all the time
6. Only a three hour time difference from Kyle (you mean we'll actually be in the same day most of the time?! Insane.)
7. Driving my car. I think I might have forgotten how to drive, though...
8. Listening to music on Pandora and Spotify. They don't work in the UK, and I miss having unlimited music all the time.
9. Pools. The river. Belle Isle.
10. Actual summer weather. And sunshine. And heat.
11. My whole closet full of clothes to choose from, not just the things I was able to bring with me.
12. Blinds and curtains that shut out the light when the sun rises so it doesn't wake me up at 4 am everyday.
13. My dog. Silly but so true. I miss that stinker.
14. Getting to be artsy. I miss painting and crafting and having everything I need to do so right in my room.
15. Wearing shorts. And dresses. And not lots of layers and rain jackets and rainboots everyday.
16. Family dinners.
17. Having tv, and catching up on my shows that I've been missing all summer.
18. All my usual hair/makeup/beauty products. For some reason, I didn't bring hardly anything. I'm pretty tired of the cheap, mint eucalyptus shampoo I bought here, and the funny smelling lotion that isn't even that great. And my hair products so I don't have to keep my hair all tied up everyday.
19. Actual coffee makers that are quick and easy and not French presses.
20. Being able to work out in my own house, with plenty of room and all the equipment I need, etc. It would be weird and really awkward if I did yoga in the common room here. I can't wait to work out again.
21. Ranch dressing! It doesn't exist here.

I guess not everything about leaving London is bad!