Better than a Novel

I think I've decided (again) that blogs are better than novels.

Since finding Katie's blog (The Journey) yesterday, I've been hooked. I'm reading it like I read novels. I started from the beginning - when she started writing in 2007 - and am reading every entry through to the present. I'm absolutely enthralled.

This woman - or girl? - is 20 years old. She's lived in Africa for at least two years. She has volunteered in orphanages. She feeds over 400 children daily through a non-profit ministry that she started. She has personally adopted and mothers 14 children.

She's 20.

I think when I was 20 I was taking off my traning bra.

Blogs are in the here and now. They are in real time. Blogs are real people with real stories and real lives you can be a part of through prayer and personal connection by writing. They make me think. They challenge who I am. They create a kind of a record, a scrapbook, if you will, of the good memories. And some of the bad. They give glory to God and chronicle His handiwork.

I've been sick since Friday morning (I think it's the flu), so I've had lots of time to read - given that I'm not able to do much else. I'll warn you now that I'm going to be doing a lot of reflecting on this story of Katie and her African children in the coming days. She has challenged me to the core.

...And I am brainstorming a fun way to do something as a community to send support and resources her way. I can't wait to finish figuring it all out so I can tell you about it! (If you have any ideas, send them my way.)

Katie wrote in 2007:

I believe that life is not about avoiding the storm,

but learning to dance in the rain.

What a beautiful picture; dancing in the rain. When I was a little girl, my mom let my sister and I go play in the rain one afternoon. We were elated at the realization that she was going to let us "break the rules" and get soaked. It was an afternoon I'll never forget. I remember running, splashing, singing, dancing... with utter abandon.

Oh, to live my whole life that way.

Having a son has slowed me down a bit. In a good way! Whereas I used to be eager for the next season of my life, I find myself wanting to soak up every moment of the one I'm in, and just revel in it. Instead of spending moments looking forward to what was ahead and wishing for what's to come, I am much more present to the moment, because I know that it will pass quickly.

What a blessing it is that God gives us these things that pass. It forces us out of taking-for-granted mode and into living-to-the-fullest mode, which is what I am all about.

What do you have to be thankful for today? What season are you rushing through that God has given you as a gift to revel in for the moment? I challenge you to take today, to stop in His Presence, and just be. Just savor it.