Every once in a while, you get these moments in life where you're standing in a place.. and I guess you would call it a privilege, that you're able to look back and sum up where you've been and see all the tragedies and victories and see for once they kinda make sense. Even though it's not what we would've chosen, it's where we are now and how we got here.. and it's the most amazing view sometimes. It kinda strikes a chord and hits our hearts and we realize, wow. My story is not my own, and I couldn't have written it this way. It's a good thing somebody else is writing it, 'cause there's a lot more joy and a lot more pain and it's all worth it. That's what this is about.
sometimes, it feels like i've stumbled through the last four years of life. from that first summer camp... through mountains, valleys, rivers, raging floods, gentle streams, til now. someone who's known joy, known tragedy, know what it feels like to be part of a Family, or away from one.. all part of catching a glimpse of His face.

but now, it feels like You found me somehow. i always thought i stumbled upon redemption... but maybe Redemption finally found me.

thanks for looking for me, Dad.

i'm off to summer camp in a few hours, feeling like it's a closing on my high school years. you leave the same way you come in; for me, it was that lobby at NIU. where i first shared a bible with you, when you just thought i was some ditzy girl :P where i first met you, loser. where i first realized that... this type of love is different. where i first found that feeling of home.

and it's that home that doesn't change. home is where the heart is.. and my heart is resting near Your Throne, Dad. slightly battered, slightly bruised - but made new again in Your hands.

..

i'm feeling overwhelm-y blessed right now. and i think i'm finally excited for camp.

we're going down, down in an earlier round
and sugar we're going down swinging