May Flowers

Sometimes when my life gets flighty... I get reflective.

I was talking with a friend the other day about how May feels. For so many years in our lives May brings a time for saying good-bye to whatever phase is ending: first grade, high school graduation, each year of college. I questioned my friend if she thought that May would always feel nostalgic, if the month would always carry a sullen sense of ending since it has held that feeling for so long.

We didn't come up with a decisive answer, the conversation moved to summer plans, finals schedules and all the wonderfulness that comes with these endings I've been questioning.

Truth is, I will never know the answer. But, honestly, I really don't have to.

Fillers

So it's been awhile...

to see what I've been up to, check out:

http://elizainreynosa.blogspot.com

and

http://elizainecuador.blogspot.com

My thoughts exactly...

Free To Be Me

At twenty years of age
I'm still looking for a dream
A war's already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can’t always see

‘Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

When I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out
My life would turn out right, and I'd make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt


And you’re free to be you

Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me
That I've got all You seek
And it’s easy to believe
Even though

‘Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

Unaccustomed Earth

I have just finished my last midterm and my spring break will officially begin at 4:00pm when my car begins to roll down Manitou Hill. However I have started some of my "Spring Break" reading a little early! Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my FAVORITE authors and she opens her most recent collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth, with this quote:

Human nature will not flourish, any more than a
potato, if it be planted and replanted, for too long
a series of generations, in the same worn-out soil.
My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far
as their fortunes may be within my control, shall
strike their roots into unaccustomed earth.
-Nathanial Hawthorne "The Custom House"

This quote solidifies my feelings on how important it is for humans to be culturally aware and willing to peek around the next unknown corner. There will always be reasons not try, go, or look somewhere different from where we are, but we could all focus on the reasons why we should. I hope that one day I can look back on my life, and see my footprints in places where I never thought I would go, and see my family in the faces spread across the globe.

...

The weather today is absolutely fantastic.

I debated whether blogging about the weather would have the same connotation as talking about the weather. You know, the idea that if you begin to talk about the weather, it means that you don't have anything significant to say? I guess it might be true, since this is what I came up with for the afternoon. I guess it might be one of life's unanswerable questions.

Enjoy it. 40 degrees. Yes.

Run & Rest

I have come onto this time of year, it happens repeatedly, but this time I feel a little lost.

This time of year is when spring is peeking around the corner, and I know it's only a hop, skip, and a jump away.

This time of year is when my schedule seems to get away from me. I'm living from day to day, with little sleep, attempting to keep the stress at bay.

This time of year is when preparations for summer are becoming concrete, I have a daily reminder of how God has blessed my life with CHI.

As I walk through this haze of days known as March, I need to constantly remind myself of who I am living for. With God all things are possible, and in my human state I often forget to remember this enormous "Get out of Jail Free" card I have in my back pocket. I send my prayer out into the universe that God bring peace into my unrest, and open my eyes to every day's simple joy.

Cree Indian Prophecy

The following proverb has been taped up in the desk where I have worked for over a year. Today I decided that I should share it here.

Only after the last tree has been cut down; Only after the last fish has been caught; Only after the last river has been poisoned; Only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten. - Cree Indian Prophecy