promises

Runs, jogs, and walks are good for all kinds of exploration. For just getting out there, you are rewarded. I soaked in one of these beautiful gifts with a dear friend of mine on Sunday, when during a coastal run, we saw among the clear line where the sky met the sea, two whales, blowing up water from their blowholes, nearby – just beyond the highest waves.

Today, on a warm, summer weekday, I took a walk with my sister-in-law, soon-to-be-four-year-old nephew, and who he calls his “best sister”, which is really a four-year-old friend of his. We walked through a neighborhood I’ve explored hundreds of times. Despite the everyday, monotonous nature of this common neighborhood, there was much to be discovered: a mimosa tree, a single white Morning Lilly among concrete weeds, and wishing plants (as we like to call dandelions). We also snagged a few blackberries and some black plums to snack on from various neighborhood plants. We found letters and numbers and colors and shapes from all sorts of things on the streets.

I’ve been lucky to have these adventure companions as of late. But most of the past seven weeks since I’ve been back in the states, a lot of my jogging has been alone (sticking to all the main streets and paths, and using every safety precaution! As we should all do!). It has been a time to think, and quite often I have listened to Solid Rock podcasts as I go. After being a city girl for the last four years, a not-busy life makes me anxious and nervous and easily feel alone and like a failure. These quite times are surly a time of reflection and reconnecting with the essence of life.

I make it a point to live my life in positive words. I am admittedly a Pinterest addict, and I especially love the beautifully illustrated quotes and ideas which remind us of beauty in every day.

And starting my morning by reading the bible is definitely a way to infuse truth in my life. It’s not always easy. And sometimes I get frustrated, because sometimes most of the time I don’t understanding everything, and I feel like I keep reading about vague ideas to which I can’t connect to: like God’s promises, and waiting. But what are God’s promises? And what am I waiting for?

I need things to be specific to me; I have a hard time with general ideas. I don’t relate to things until I experience them at a very personal level.

So near the end of the podcast on my run, I loved these few sentences which spoke of promise, of personalized promise. Especially during these moments of uncertainty, of wandering, of waiting, and of new things.

“Don’t be afraid, just believe, have faith, I’m up to something, I’m with you, I’m not cold, I’m not distant, I care, I’m suffering with you. I feel what you feel, I wait with you. Wait, watch what happens.”

And amidst the confusion, and lack of understanding, there are always words for peace, and hope, and comfort, and joy.

And these things help us live happily in today, connecting with people, and finding essence. And the promises are apparent when you are vidily living and activitely seeking. Sometimes they come in being the first person to see a morning sunrise, a surprise animal sighting, or a new friend. But they are all around. If you are pacient, and look carefully and deeply.

Images via: Ganim’s Garden Secrets, BHFJ, Media, Southern Charm)