2-1-10.

I am sitting in a comfy, overstuffed chair in front of the glass doors of Guynes’ lobby. I am blasted with chilly February air every time they are opened by passerby’s searching for an escape from this “bitter cold” Texas weather. But despite the frost that is forming on these window panes, my heart is full of warmth tonight. It is full of gratitude, love, and awe as I sit and watch the people I live with worship God in Spirit & in Truth. Tonight, I am surrounded by people who will change the world; people who will change me; people who are willing to be changed by the Lord. As I’ve said many times recently—this move to Guynes was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I am so incredibly thankful to be living in such a beautiful example of community. It has been like a drink of cool water in midst of the inescapable heat of an Indian summer. Sometimes you don’t realize how thirsty you are until you take a drink. Tonight, I’ve taken a drink. And I’ve come to realize I didn’t know I was this thirsty for community, for relationship, for family. I don’t want to pass this moment up. I don’t want to be quick to let it end because these are the days I will look back on and wish I could relive. I am choosing to live in the NOW. For far too long I have lived in the memories of the past and the dreams of the future, all the while neglecting the only thing I truly possess; right now.

Lord, You are filling my life with new and beautiful things… Things I didn’t even know I wanted; things I hadn’t even yet thought of. You are restoring past time. You are making me whole and new. You are birthing joy within me once again. The things I thought were long gone and dead are beginning to sprout up once more. Bursts of vibrant green against the cold, white snow. Winter has not destroyed me. Spring is coming in once again and along with it; new life. As the seasons change, so I am changing.