100th Post

Perhaps it's because I work for an elementary school where the younger children always celebrate the "100th Day of School", but something in me feels like I should acknowledge the fact that this is my blog's 100th post.  I probably wouldn't even notice, except Blogger tells you which # post it is every time you blog.  It seems like I should be writing about something exciting or monumental on this 100th post, but I'm not.  The truth is that more of life is made up of the mundane than the celebratory.  However, it does not necessarily follow that there is not joy in the mundane.

I've always liked this quote by Helen Keller and will sometimes think of it as I go about my normal routine: "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief task to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble."

In attempt to stay awake on a road trip, a friend and I were recently discussing what we would name our hypothetical bands.  I would name mine "Ordinary Wonder."  Ordinary wonder is all around us; we just have to be looking for it...

'Tis the Season for Weddings

As of a few days ago, it's officially summer again (at least for my school district) aka time to reenter the blogging world and sigh once again over the fact that even without grad school, I'm not much of a consistent blogger during the school year.  That's ok though because while I didn't do much blogging during the spring semester, I did take a lot of weekend trips.  In fact, I left town eight different weekends between New Year's and Memorial Day.  The predominant theme and reason for these travels: weddings.  In March, I went to three weddings in the span of four weeks.  (It would have even been four weddings if two of the weddings hadn't been at the exact same time/day, but in two different states.)  May brought yet another wedding and mini road trip once again.

This might seem a little overwhelming, and it can be at times. However, it was mostly a joy.  A joy to see dear friends marry godly men and be truly excited for each of these new marriages.  A joy to see how each couple weaved so many personal elements into their celebrations.  And my personal favorite, a joy for the sweet reunions with old and far-away friends that weddings provide.  Here's a recap of my "Wedding Season - Spring 2014":

3.1.14 Cassidy + Kyle: an absolutely perfect Tallahassee day with the high hovering right around 70 degrees, Skyping our friend Kate in the Philippines so she could also "be" there, a reception on the lawn including corn hole and contra dancing, conversations with beloved & wise women from my home church, and a bicycle built for two get-away

3.15.14 Karen + Joseph: a cool but beautiful day in South Bend, IN with snow still on the ground, a ceremony where the bride and groom helped serve us communion, a party complete with Mexican food and pie (after all, they did get married the day after Pie Day) and some of the funniest and sweetest toasts, and the best reunion with a lot of my CFCI/Fresnillo teammates

There were even Mexican cokes :)

So life-giving to be with people who understand the Fresnillo part of my heart

3.22.14 Claire + Eric: a lovely warm evening in West Point, MS, a wedding marked with laughter right from the start, great musical selections during the ceremony including the theme from Anne of Green Gables (love this!) and a Sandra McCracken song, lots of special guests including some of Claire's 7th grade students, and a great day trip with home group friends

5.10.14 Ali + Eli: an overcast day where the rain thankfully held off for their "Wedding in the Woods" at Perry Lakes Park in rural AL, a blue-grass band and dancing, amazing hand-drawn invitations/maps & field guides by Ali, good friends from near and far, and the perfect exit for this outdoorsy couple: canoeing down the Cahaba

Loved seeing Jennifer, my dear Bham friend who now lives in Montana

Edgar

A few weeks ago, I received a message that Edgar had died a few days after a tragic car accident in Fresnillo.  He was about 14 years old.  At first, I was full of shock and disbelief.  It didn't seem real, especially being far removed from it here in the U.S.  After a while though, the grief and tears set in as I tried to wrap my head around the fact that mi querido Edgar is gone.

Edgar was one of the kids in our Club ministry, and he was also a part of my academic resource class ÉXITO.  The second oldest of four boys, he always had a special place in my heart.  He struggled a lot as a student and like most boys, never wanted to lose face.  Beneath that tough exterior though was a very tender heart.

One of the hardest parts of Edgar's sudden death is that I don't have the comfort and assurance of knowing he's with Jesus.  Edgar heard the Gospel many times over the years and probably accepted it, but did it take root in his heart?  From the likes of his recent Facebook posts, he certainly didn't seem to be walking with the Lord these days.  What was really in his heart though?  Was it callous and closed off to the love of God or full of true faith hidden beneath a season of rebellion?  Only God knows.

In a strange way, part of his death is a relief.  I used to frequently pray that the Lord would protect Edgar, especially from becoming involved in the (drug) cartel or being a victim of them.  I hoped he wouldn't fall into the generational sins that are so embedded in the colonia, like alcoholism and abuse.  I don't have to pray or worry about Edgar anymore.  The cartel can't get him.  He is either experiencing the glory of God, or he's not.  If Edgar did know Jesus and his name was sealed in the Book of the Lamb, then maybe his young death was actually a severe mercy that would protect him from worse things.

Ultimately, I choose to trust in God's sovereignty even in the darkness.  I pray for Edgar's family, especially for his mom and his older brother Uriel, that God would use this tragedy to draw them back to Himself.  I pray that I would have boldness to proclaim the love of Christ to those around me.  May the fact that no day is promised not stir me to be paralyzed by fear and sadness, but rather may it stir me to joyful action and to live each day well.

my ÉXITO class (Edgar's in the center, his brother Uriel is on the right)

January 2011

the last time I saw Edgar (June 2012)