What I Don’t Want To Miss

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” -Mother Teresa

I’ve been pretty quiet here lately. Mostly, I haven’t had much to say, but also… life has been full of just that— life.

 Erin Loechner says that in the seasons she’s living the most, she’s writing the least, and I have found that to be wildly true for me this Summer.

I’m back, though, with hopes of being a bit more consistent in this space. 

Something I’ve been consciously practicing in these past weeks is the art of noticing. Of staying curious. Of keeping time. 

I don’t want to forget this year. I don’t want to forget the struggle and the pain and the loss. 

But I also don’t want to forget the gift. 

Because this year is just that— a blessing. 

I don’t want to forget how this year taught me patience. Trust. 

I don’t want to forget the little things, like how the Dollar Tree was out of helium due to supplier shortages. 

How the chairs and tables were turned on their sides in the coffee shop. 

How instead of smiling as strangers in the grocery store, we squinted our eyes to connect, instead. 

I don’t want to forget, because I have climbed mountains I never thought I could summit; fought battles I never thought I could win; been braver than I ever could have imagined. (And I bet you have too.) 

I don’t want to forget because I have loved more fiercely, prayed more fervently, and surrendered so completely. 

I don’t want to forget the eeriness of the grocery story the day we went into lockdown because it reminds me of the Truth. 

The truth, that no matter how bad things get, how hard life becomes, we still belong to each other. 

At the end of the day, it does not matter who you are or where you came from. We are on one team. 

We can fight with each other till we’re blue in the face, but the truth this: we will have no peace until we come home to each other.

Until we come home to God. 

There is a lot of grief in these days, dear friends, I know. 

But there is also gift, and I don’t want to miss it. I don’t want to miss the life that is happening right in front of me.

This is not the end. 

It is merely the beginning.