The Simple Things

I'm a girl that has an appreciation for the simple things.

Fountain Diet Cokes make my day.

I squeal from excitement over a good Subway sandwich.

My dream date would consist of going to a car wash and getting the upgraded wash, with all the different colored waxes and hub cap shine.

But my most simple recent obsession has come in the form of a powder.

Powdered peanut butter, to be exact.

PB2 is a powdered peanut butter, that is simply dried and crushed peanuts, that has 85% less fat then regular peanut butter.

And all you have to do is add water.

Put  two tablespoons of PB2 in a bowl,

Add one tablespoon of water,

Stir,

And you have creamy, delicious, healthy peanut butter.

It's so simple,

Add water and stir,

And you're done.

Sometimes, I think I look at my relationship with God,

And the way He answers my prayers,

Like I look at PB2.

I should only have to do is pray about it,

And the work will be done.

Add water and stir.

Most recently, I've been praying that God will increase my faith.

Increase my faith in His love,

Increase my faith in His ability,

Increase my faith in His plan for my life.

And I'm not sure why, but somehow, in the midst of these prayers, I think I expected to just wake up one day and discover-

"Wow, overnight my faith has grown! I have doubts no more".

But instead,  God put me in situations that forced me to take a step back and think-

Am I really going to trust God in this?

How much do I believe?

And am I willing to wait and see how He is going to work?

I expected add water and stir peanut butter,

But instead, I got something much more complicated.

I discovered, that most of the time, God isn't just going to give us faith,

Or patience,

Or strength,

He's going to put us in messy,

And hard,

And complicated situations that require us to grow our faith,

And our patience,

And our strength.

And it's through this process that we become true followers,

Not just blind believers.

So tonight,

As I head downstairs to make my PB2 sandwich for lunch tomorrow,

I am grateful for the work,

And the tough situations,

And the messy circumstances.

Tonight, I choose to be grateful for the complicated,

Because it's the complicated that will in turn grow my faith.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything

Love Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays.

Which is funny, because for most of my life, I haven't technically had a valentine.

I think I just enjoy that there is a holiday entirely devoted to love,

Entirely devoted to showing that special someone in your life that you care about them,

And entirely devoted to the purchasing, and eating, of chocolate.

I've always been a sucker for Valentine's Day.

But as last Valentine's Day came and went,

And I was single, yet again,

I made a pact,

A promise to myself,

A goal that I wanted to achieve.

"Next year, by Valentine's Day, I'm going to fall in love".

Which, when you think about it, is kind of a crazy goal.

How am I going to force myself to fall in love?

How am I going to control the universe and fulfill this pact with myself that when February 14th comes again, I will have someone to share it with.

And even though I recognize how ridiculous it sounds,

I think you would be hard pressed to find a woman who hasn't made a statement that sounds something a little like it

"By next Christmas I won't be single".

"When I turn 30, I'll have someone to share my birthday with".

"Next New Years Eve, I'll have someone to kiss at midnight".

And I guess I could look at the fact that I sit here on Valentine's Day, single,

And that I haven't fallen in love with the man of my dreams in the last 365 days,

And be upset,

And sad,

And drown my sorrows in the candy that will certainly be 50% off at CVS in the morning.

But, tonight, as I sit in my room,  I've looked back on the past year and realized-

I have fallen in love.

I've fallen in love time and time again.

I've fallen in love with a city, that has become so much more then a college town to me - it's become my home.

I've fallen in love with a two groups of women, who began as strangers, sitting awkwardly around a table, and became some of my closest friends, my partners in crime, the people that I turn to when I need a laugh or a hug.

I've fallen in love with skinny vanilla lattes.

I've fallen in love with my boxing class, and how it feels to have a really good sweat after a really hard workout.

I've fallen in love with a job that I walk into smiling, and leave smiling.

I've fallen in love with a group of co-workers, my "girl power" who have allowed me to open up my heart and share life with.

I've fallen in love with Cookout Milkshakes, so much so that I have to limit myself to them once a month.

I've fallen in love with being an aunt, and the gorgeous nephew that made that possible.

I've fallen in love with Saturdays in Athens.

I've fallen in love with a group of six year old cheerleaders that taught me way more then I ever could have taught them.

I've fallen in love with a group of high school freshman, who constantly keep me on my toes.

And most importantly, I've continued to fall in love with a God who loves me so perfectly, that all of these amazing blessings I just stated could only be a reflection of that love.

And yes,

I may not have an official "Valentine" tonight.

But I can say, with confidence, that I kept the promise I made to myself 365 days ago.