"Who cares what they're wearing on Main Street or Saville Row. It's what you wear from ear to ear, and not from head to toe, that matters... You're never fully dressed without a smile!"
When I was a little girl, Annie was one of my favorite movies. The little girls sing and dance to this song about smiles. Aww, I love it! :) Kim (a sweet friend I get to work with) popped into my office today. Logo design is my main project this week, accompanied with sweet melodies of country and christian music. Where a musical song came from out of that mix, I don't know. Randomly, I got to tell Kim how much I loved Annie... and we found a clip on youtube. Oh, it made me smile, reminisce, and dance like the little girls on the screen!
Innocence. It's so beautiful. I want to dream big, sing loud, dance around, and shine like those girls in the New York orphanage. Despite all odds, living, smiling, free. Life is a beautiful thing. I believe that my life's purpose is for God... and God is good all the time. No matter the circumstance, no matter the feelings, He's there. God is Life, and He is Good. :)
Thanks for being such a blessing to me in Spain. It is a journey to get to sit with Jesus and write these letters to you. Life is wonderful here and a true joy. From my heart, I want to tell you though... sometimes I feel tension come when the day slows down after work. It is a step by step journey of getting to know Haley when things get quiet and I feel alone.
A close friend told me one time: "Wherever you are, be all there." It seems crazy that I can be here, in an amazing summer adventure, yet be taunted with homesickness, missing friends and family. God is teaching me to seek Him, to dig deeper into who Haley is, and to face the insecurities that are stirred when things get quiet. This has been a long time coming. I thank God for bringing me to this place of being dependent on Him, finding true joy in Him, and experiencing another part of the world with Him as my best friend and security.
I have had the joy and blessing to start running again. In the mornings before work, I start the day out in the dark. God has created a big analogy in my mind between "waking up" to Him (Awakening) and getting out of bed each morning. My alarm keeps getting set earlier because my number of snooze presses has increased. Every day it's a decision. Every day it's a wrestle to choose to sit up, awake, put shoes on, and take the first step. It's the hardest part.
Life with the Spirit is a walk. A journey. A moment by moment decision. I got to listen to a sermon the other day by Andy Stanley, a pastor in Atlanta. He explained how walking in the Spirit is like following a person, instead of a list. It is like following a car, instead of watching the guardrails. It is following a personal friend, instead of written directions. It's intensely personal. It's beautiful. It's a relationship. Amazing! A step by step walk.
As I write, I'm in this walk. Right now, it's step by step in Spain. Who knows the direction the path will go after Chattanooga, after a senior year at Ole Miss... That's the beautiful thing about it. God is helping me place my hope in the here and now. Jesus will guide. If I have faith, pay attention, and keep walking, then He'll get me where I'm supposed to be. I'm excited and looking forward the step by step of His plans for these final two weeks here.
What am I waiting on? I've realized that what I tend to wait for is what I'm putting my hope in. Daily, I'm learning that I cant afford to hope in anything but Christ. So... I wait only for Him, hope only in Him, and step by step pray that I will trust Jesus and shine in the here and now. May I surrender any longings/desires for the future. There is so much life to discover in the present. Jesus=Life. He's yearning to be sought out and found. May I focus on relationship with Him, and the freedom, joy, and SMILES it brings. "We're never fully dressed without a... smile!" I hope you have an amazing day. :)
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