I'm going to Jackson

So, I survived 1L.  I will write about that later, but I have to actually process it first.  For now, I feel like I just woke up from a long, intense dream, where all I remember is that my brain hurt a lot and the Lord is really, really good.  Even now that school is out, things are still a slight whirlwind.  Since my last exam on Friday I have watched my sister graduate from Asbury, attended a research seminar at school to prep me for my summer job, gone on a nice long walk in the park in the rain with the boyfriend, had a lot of hammock time, and crashed Mom's 2nd grade field trip to the Arboretum.  And now, as a result of a bizarre series of events, I am leaving first thing Saturday morning to go spend the first half of the summer clerking at a law firm in the closest thing to a "hometown" I have, with my best friends nonetheless!  

Cue Johnny Cash:

I am excited.  Still, leaving is kind of overwhelming, and packing for a real job for 7 weeks is more ridiculous than I bargained for.  But regardless of what makes sense, where the Lord leads we follow.  So Jackson it is, for May and June, and then after that I am "wandering"...yeah.

Really though - this is the 23rd summer in a row I have lived out of a suitcase.  Why break the streak now?

Bluegrass State, thank you for a wonderful first year welcome.  Sorry that I have to leave you now that the weather finally got good and the flowers are all blooming.  I'll be back as soon as I can.

Mississippi, I am not looking forward to your humidity but I have terribly missed your food, your tea, your accent, your culture, and your people.  See you in 48 hours or so!

People of the Deep South, look me up the next 7 weeks.  I'm excited for some time to spend with you!

oceans | hillsong united | zion

click.  listen.  repeat.  worship.

via

and one month later...

One month blogging hiatus.  That's not too bad.  Actually, I'm shocked it hasn't been longer considering the circumstances.  March. was. crazy.  For multiple reasons, but namely these:

Guatemala
appellate brief due
oral argument speech competition (a.k.a. Triwizard Tournament)
family in town for Easter
trying to sort out which classes to take next year
too little sleep
too many allergies
way too much snow for what this Mississippi girl considers the first month of spring
contracts and property and con law...oh my

And just like that, March is over.  And now it's April 5, with two weeks until finals, and it's warm outside again, and Keeneland has started, and all I want to do is to press pause and have adventures and soak up life without an ever-ticking clock.  But the clock continues to tick, and so we make the best of the time we have.

Which is why yesterday, when I was sitting in class at 1:00 and got a text that said "Hey, let's go to the Gorge," the answer had to be yes.  Even though we couldn't leave until 2:30 and it takes an hour to get there and we had to be back by 7 and Turtleback Arch is an unmarked trail that's supposed to take "3 to 5 hours" to locate...

We never did make it to Turtleback Arch, but we did see Rock Bridge and jam to some Page CXVI in the car and have good conversation and make it back in time to change into formal clothes and dance the night away.  And it was so, so good.

How is it that spontaneity always, always wins?

6 days

until I am here

with her (and we will take a picture in this exact same spot for the fourth time now)

and them

 Excited is a serious, serious understatement.  Spring break come quickly por favor...¡quiero ver a mis amigos!

on remembering

On the (rare) days I drive to school, I have the friendly UK parking garage elevators to help me remember which floor I parked on:

Helpful, considering the dozens of small details I remember (or, try to) these days:  

My locker combination.  Not locking the keys in the Jeep.  Packing a spoon with my lunch on the days I bring yogurt.  That Contracts happens on Monday/Tuesday/Thursday this semester instead of Tuesday/Thursday/Friday.  These things are so much harder for me than they should be.  

But while not locking my keys in the car is good, there are other things.  More important things...

The book of Deuteronomy talks a lot about remembering.  Remember the Lord.  Remember what His laws are.  Remember why His laws matter.  Remember how He led you through the desert.  Do not forget...  

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.  Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees...  You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me."  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today...  [from Deuteronomy 8:10-18]

Lately I just feel the need to remember.  Last year was a big year, a blessing year.  A mountaintop year.  And this year is great, in so many ways, but there are things I need to remember from the mountain.  Things that, while we were on the mountain, we said we would never forget...

I want to remember - and I mean vividly, deep-down-in-my-soul remember - the chaos of Mondays at the Brick House.  The frantic washing of dishes.  The blasting karaoke machine, the broken English, the shouting voices.  The way that ice cream to make milkshakes was like manna from heaven and would always show up, somehow, from somewhere.

I want to remember the power that is in total and complete transparency.  The transparency that comes at 6:30 on Friday mornings in a room full of best friends with bared souls, open bibles, and muffins.  That comes on warm Sunday afternoons with brothers and sisters on blankets under Rowan Oak trees with Newks chicken salad and Mama Jo's to-go plates.  That comes when love triumphs over judgment, and everyone knows it, and everyone acts on it.  Weekly.  Daily.  Always.

I want to remember the constant encouragement.  The answered prayers.  The excitement, the laughter, the pain, but the joy.  To remember - really, truly remember - that we were dead, but now we are alive.  That we had needs, and that He met them.  That someone died, on a cross, to save us.  And that absolutely must change everything.

It's not that I have forgotten these things.  I could never truly forget.  But that's just it.  You never start out thinking you're going to forget.  When you leave your car on the fourth floor of the parking garage, when you see the friendly UK elevator, you assume you'll remember.  But come 4:00, after a couple hours of property law, citation quizzes, and library time, that memory of where you left the car is a little bit fuzzy.

Another thing...  Remembering gets a bad rep because people equate it with living in the past.  That's not what I'm talking about.  God didn't tell the Israelites to actually go back to the desert.  He told them to remember the desert to strengthen them for the now, to keep them on track for the future.  That's why remembering matters.  Not so we can dwell on what was, but so we can take what was and use it to help us today and tomorrow, and the day after that.

So this is what I need to do, and I'm inviting you to do it with me.  Let's take some time and think about where we've come from, where we've been.  How He was more than enough.  How He's always been more than enough, to everyone, always.  And we can draw from the strength of those memories for whatever challenges we're facing today.

Let the Word, let your memories, let this post be your friendly UK parking garage door.  Not because you've forgotten, but because we can always use the reminder.

He has been faithful.
He will be faithful again.
Remember.