Blessed are those whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.
Lamentations 1:14; Psalm 84:5-7
People often characterize "the 20's" as the best part of a person's life. You are strong, beautiful, and capable. The world is at your feet. It's that decade of freedom and discovery, the one where "you are young enough to believe that anything is possible, and you are old enough to make that belief a reality (Niequist, Twenty-Five)." You can settle down or travel, work in your dream job or a minimum-wage job, stay single or get married, kiss your college debt goodbye or go back to school, eat whatever you like or diet, build a savings or spend like crazy.
Your life up to this point has embodied the word "transition."
Within the first two decades of your life, you've grown an additional 45 inches (in my case, only 40). You've gone from sleeping 20 hours a day to a max of 6 hours a day. That is, when you're not fighting a deadline. Crying is no longer your main form of communication. In fact, your vocabulary has increased to about 20,000 words, and more if you speak another language. You dress, feed, and bathe yourself without mom's help. You can read and write. You no longer sincerely believe that the opposite gender has "cooties." You can sit in a driver's seat instead of a car seat. You cook your own meals, or at least you have credit card.
We grow up in the hopes that we can do things "all by ourselves." Isn't that the mantra of every child? But what I've discovered about my twenties is just the opposite. Despite what the world may tell me about my capabilities, how able and gifted and clever I am, I know better. My strength has been tested, and it has failed over and over again.
Strange as it may sound, I want this decade to be characterized by my own failure. Why? Because those are the moments when I come to terms with who I really am and what I'm made of. Those are the moments when God's strength brilliantly and miraculously comes through. No human being can live "from strength to strength" on his own terms. Let's face it, none of us was created to be a Captain America or Superwoman, even in our golden twenties. Our bodies and hearts were designed as weak vessels for a great purpose. His purpose.
Although He [Jesus] was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. ~Hebrews 5:8
I am faced with many choices, but the most important one comes down to this: rebellion or obedience to the One who created me. This season is just that; a season. A unique point in time for God to do His thing. Let me live from strength to strength and learn to be a child again.
Speaking of being a child, please enjoy some recent photos of our fifth grade class! Hard to believe that we only have 8 days left of school. I will miss these kiddos.
A few of my girls hanging out at recess
On the way to the planetarium for our class field trip!
Our poetry share with the 7th graders - the kids loved getting to read and listen.
We have some awesome poets here at Highlands!
An adorable photo of a fifth grade sister and seventh grade brother.
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