rain, rain.. go away.

a few weeks ago, i had a very interesting day. i was going to go help my friend paul with an engagement photo shoot he was shooting. he told me that i should be prepared in rain gear, hence, i travelled on over to target to purchase some rain boots i have been looking for an excuse to buy. this is all context leading up to my real point. i get inside target and am walking around and people watching, of course. first, i saw a man and his wife, young, in their late 20’s with a newborn in the stroller running into a familiar friend. they were chatting about life and church and started talking about the village church. exhibit A: young, trendy, Christian married couple with baby. 

Then, as i am walking up and down another aisle, i hear this woman talking rather strangely. i look over and she is talking strangely and LOUDLY to her child. she bursts out into song like there is absolutely no one around. at first, i felt a little awkward standing so close to her, but then i saw the evident love and devotion she had for her little baby. there wasn’t anyone in the store but her child and you could tell she loved her so much. exhibit B: adult singing woman with baby.

as i’m checking out, the woman behind the register had a glazed over look about her and was non-responsive to my questions to her. her mind was absolutely somewhere else, and by the looks of her, it seemed as if she had been through the ringer. i don’t know what it was, but there was something inside of her hurting. exhibit C: hurting, dazed, woman.

when i was walking outside on my way to the car, i passed a trash can to the left of the sliding doors. as i was walking, i saw a man with a long beard, ratted out clothing and shoes with holes in them digging in the trash can. as i walked past him, he quickly retreated and walked briskly away, trying to play off what he was doing. exhibit D: hungry, dirty, embarrassed man.

as i look at the four different types of people i saw today, i was reminded of Romans. we all need the Gospel. we all need the Lord’s presence in our life. we need the peace that transcends all understanding. we need HOPE. whether we’re the cute Christian couple whose involved in a church community and possibly “walking the walk”, we’re still flawed. deeply flawed. i see the woman with her child and her love for her child, and i’m reminded of the love the Father has for us. He loves us so deeply and is not ashamed to proclaim His love by sending His Son as an atonement for us. for the woman who is hurting, another example that this world is broken and fractured by the fall. the emptiness and the pain that we feel is evidence that something has gone wrong. this is not home for those who are in Christ. In Romans 8:22-25, it says:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

finally, the old man outside… although his immediate need seemed to be that of hunger, there is an eternal need that is so much bigger than that. you see, i am that old man so many times in a spiritual sense. i am digging around in trash cans, beat up, and broken down by this world. i play it off like i’m walking somewhere else, but i settle for the junk of this world, the idols in my life, the material things that might seem to be a little more tangible than the omnipotent God who loves me. and i trade it so many times in foolishness. 

so, i don’t want to be a broken record, because i know i can be. however, for whatever reason, i just feel my heart is more sensitive right now to seeing the world for what it really is: broken and a need of a Savior. My prayer is that it affects not only my head knowledge, but makes that connection with my heart. 

and, by the way, the photo shoot i was going to help with got cancelled. i got rain boots tho:)

fried fun with a side of laughter.

So yesterday was an adventure. Yes, an adventure to the great state FAIR OF TEXAS! There is nothing, I mean, NOTHING like it. Where else can you find "carnies", everything fried under the sun, people performing tricks, the smallest horse in the world.. the list is endless. So, let me compile a list (I just love them recently) of the highlights of this great outing:

1. Strategic bird poop on a small child/toddler right in front of me as we're walking into the fair.

**Anyone else notice that birds have ridiculous aim when they decide to relieve themselves? Once upon a time, I was eating dinner with a few friends in the West Village of Dallas. We were eating outside on the patio, chatting, laughing about life, and then... SPLAT!! Kim was a direct hit for a bird flying over. Of course, all three of us jumped up screaming/laughing and made a huge scene. Yup. We were THOSE girls.

2. Riding the DART to Fair Park. Whoop for public transpo:)

**Funny incident: I was buying my pass for the ride {$1.75}, and the only cash I had was a $20. When the change came out, it was all Sacajawea's. $18.25 worth. I felt like I was in a casino gambling... Needless to say, it has been a great conversation piece over the last 24 hours when I use them to purchase things.

3. Pirate man jumping off the mast of a pirate ship into a swimming tank.

**ONLY at the fair. Literally, the man was standing at the top of this "ship", stretching, fake "trembling". Then with one giant step, he triple flips into a dive into the tiny little swimming tank. Who does that? Especially when it is 58 degrees outside.

4. Anything fried you can ever imagine. Seriously. It will absolutely blow your mind.

**The first thing to note when you go the fair is that a ORIGINAL Fletcher's Corny dog is a "must-have" at the fair. No questions asked. After that, for all of those adventurous at heart, there are fried oreos, fried peaches and cream, fried snickers, fried marshmallows, fried cookie dough to name a few. The most adventurous at heart can take a leap of faith and try the fried butter, which did not go over so well with one in our party. Seriously... my arteries are shuddering thinking about digesting it... But this is america. And better yet, this is TEXAS. 

All of this to say... go to the fair. Live it up. See the pigs race one another. Enjoy your friends and feel like a kid again. 

Personal note/disclaimer: After re-reading this post, I realize I have an affinity for using strategic "quotation marks" and emphasizing points with the word "seriously". Just a quirk. A quirk I'm sharing.