i'm known for picking up little bits along the way... it isn't unusual for me to return from a walk with something in my pocket, typically a pretty rock of some sort. i'll be meandering along pondering life when something will catch my eye and i'll be moved to stop, kneel, and receive the bit into my hand. these bits come to represent whatever prayer or praise was on my heart. i have a collection of these bits that stands as a sort of altar...the past couple weeks have held many events worthy of pondering from the tornadoes just two weeks back to my sister's graduation and upcoming move to TX (the family is spreading), from OBL's death to the final stages of buying a house, from finding out that the president of my school is retiring to submitting final grades, from affirming conversations with students to watching them leave as i participate in my first graduation ceremony as a prof, and especially the bit where my sister in law underwent pretty intense labor and delivery to bring forth a little boy named David (the family is growing). my heart feels spread out thin like butter as i'm missing my friends and family... like waves, change continues to roll my way and i'm bobbing up and down still trying to find the ground so i can get my footing...
taking my dog, Bella, for a walk oftentimes does not result in me finding anything along the way as my eyes are most often focused on keeping her in line. however yesterday i came across not one, but two, hatched bird eggs. symbols of new life, abundant new life :) but also symbols of struggle, of cracking open the shell, of becoming vulnerable... staying in the shell, nothing new is brought forth, but pushing outward results in breakthrough to a whole new ginormous realm... i picture those baby birds as they grow from gasping for breath to constantly tweeting to teetering on the edge before taking flight.
the broken egg shells resonate with me as representative of this time, this springtime, and in the midst of it all, i'm choosing hope
