Meaningful Moments

"Can you think back to the best moments of your life?  Moments of clarity and commitment?  Moments of transcendence and transformation?  Moments of exhilaration and engagement?  Those Kodachrome moments, when you felt so incredibly alive you actually offered thanks without prompting.  Remember?
...What's the first memory that comes to mind?"

Here's the first 10 that come to mind...

1.  A Jamaica mission trip, freshman year of high school.  Taking a walk at night - coming to a ravine FILLED with fireflies.  Delighting in the beauty of it with a few other people - simply standing in awe at this miraculous sighting.

2.  Summer vacation with my family.  Staying at our pastor's cabin up north.  Going for a swim at night - swimming as far as I could push my body to go, then floating on my back, looking at the stars.  Heart pounding.  Cool breeze.  Heron flying overhead.  Feeling alive - and God's presence.

3.  Practicing Tai-chi on the lawn of the dorms with a close friend.  We practiced til it was late and we were exhausted.  Then the rain started.  It poured!  We laughed, ran, and danced in the rain.  Pure joy and refreshment.

4.  A first kiss.

5.  The first all-out fight with my future hubby.  I didn't run.  I stayed in the struggle and conflict.  He was different - worth it.  Realizing he was "the one."

6.  Our wedding day. So much joy and laughter.  An amazing feeling to be surrounded by those you love - all in one room.  To look in his eyes and say "forever" and be sure.  Blessed.

7.  Holding my grandma's hand as she took her last breath.  Seems a strange moment to feel alive - but I've never felt such grief... and you only feel grief when your whole body senses a loss.  Spending those last days with her was a gift I will never forget.

8.  Signing the mortgage papers on our first house.  Heart-thumping.  Yet thrilling!  So excited to have a place for both of us to create and call "home."

9.  Standing on the Cliffs of Moher - feeling so far from home, looking out at the majestic scenery, feeling the wind in my hair, and feeling so lucky to be able to travel...

10.  Standing on the deck of a wildlife cruise with my sister in Alaska.  Feeling the cold wind on our faces, listening for the glaciers to thunder into the sea, seeing the bluest blue I've ever seen in the sky and water, smelling the salt in the air, experiencing the joy of friendship and laughing at the experiences life has brought us - and our resilience to make it through.

"During these indelible moments, Spirit was a palpable presence, bearing witness to the extraordinary awakening that is the miracle of authenticity...  It's at these times that the soul's Morse code - the dots and dashes of our daily round, so often dismissed as meaningless - not only connect, but resonate on the deepest level."
--Something More, by Sarah Ban Breathnach

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  The duvet is back on the bed!
2.  "Blue Like Jazz" the movie is going to be made - and has broken all kinds of records! 
3.  A good workout.
4.  A pile of things to go to Goodwill.
5.  A playful dog.
6.  Warm, cozy sweaters.
7.  The book, "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.  So good!
8.  Jalapeno jelly with cream cheese and triscuits.
9.  Helpful friends.
10.  Elly telling "good things" before she goes to sleep...  So cute.