THIS is the day...

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

It is so good to be at the Doric in Winona Lake and visiting with the girls here. Last night Joy and I stayed up late in her room just talking. We ranged from doctrine and theology to gin and tonic. A good portion of our conversation, and several of the wonderful girl conversations I've had here, had to do with what we want to do with our lives, what we struggle with, a desire for sharing life with a specific someone, not wanting to be alone, frustrations that come with all of this.

I've been thinking lately about not wanting to be alone. Yet last night after talks of guys, and marriage, and kids, and careers, my gin/tonic/cran juice was wearing off and I wasn't sleepy anymore, though it was late so Joy pulled out this children's book of kooky lullabies and sang to me.

"Go to sleep, my zoodle,
my flibbety-fitsy foo.
Go to sleep, sweet noodle.
It's time to say, "Ah-choo.

The chickens in the bathtub,
the closet full of sheep,
the sneakers in the freezer
are all drifting off to sleep..."

As Joy sang this delightful nonsense from her bed to mine I was full of the happiness of THAT moment in time, not just that minute, or this day, but this season. This 'now'. I remembered that one day we probably will be wives and mothers and life will be very different. We may keep in touch but there probably won't be across the country sleepovers, drop everything travels, the same kind of questions and possibilities for what's next. This time will be missed and so should not be missed out on the first time around.

That isn't to say that the next season won't be beautiful, because I believe it will be, in a different way. It isn't to say that this season is full of all freedom and the hoped for future all constraint and burden. Each is beautiful in it's own time (Eccl 3:11) and each has different costs, responsibilities and delights. I believe it's okay to have desires for the next season, to look forward to it and I even think that talking about and desiring those things is part of the season now. As long as the desire for what's ahead doesn't steal from what's present.

"Life is the messy bits" says Vanessa Redgrave's character in 'Letters to Juliet'

THIS is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.