A Lifetime of Firsts

Bright and early this morning, I drove my sister to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for her first ever flight. I could tell she was nervous and excited and probably a little scared (although she would never admit it! so I didn't even ask.). Last night before bed we talked about all the important things to know and do and bring on a flight. It was nice to know that my life experience was benefiting someone else. Still all the knowledge in the world can't curb the "first timer" jitters.  It wasn't until all three of the people she was meeting had arrived and they had all checked in that she really began to relax. It's fun watching someone go through a good experience for the first time...not so fun if it is a bad experience.

Life is full of first timer events. Sometimes they are good--like this morning--and sometimes they are bad. We should embrace our first timer experiences and learn from them. Our knowledge and experience may benefit someone else later on down the road.

Staying Connected

If you're like me, then you are super busy and you find it really hard to budget all of your time wisely. You might also find that since you are constantly busy and you work very hard that you are also very lazy when you do have down time. When I don't have things planned I tend to veg. Sadly, my busy schedule and veg-itude have horrible side effects. The major side effect is that my relationships tend to fall through the cracks.

From a very early age, I neglected relationships in favor or having more time to do what I wanted or just out of pure laziness or because I didn't think that I was good enough or cool enough to hang out with anyone. I never learned how to maintain a lasting, viable friendship. I don't know how to really stay connected with people. I am on facebook so that I can "keep up" with my friends but I don't make an effort to check their status updates as often as I could. I have a phone so that people can get ahold of me at any time but I rarely pick it up and call people. How can I truly be connected?

Problems in maintaining my earthly relationships have also bled over into my relationship with God. Sadly, I have passed over God for a chance to play more Xbox 360. I have neglected to talk to God because I have too many things that I want to do. I don't take time to find out what God has to say. How can I truly be connected?

Let me just tell you that typing this all out has really put a few things into perspective. It has also helped me think through some of the issues here. I think that the solution is the same for the spiritual as it is for the physical.

#1 STOP being Selfish!
My laziness is selfish. Point blank. Boom! There I said it. I am also selfish in my relationships because I try for a little while and then quit when I feel like the other person isn't returning the friendship or giving me enough attention. Me. Me. ME! Selfish. Stop it!

#2 START listening.
Being involved with God and being involved with your friends and really taking time to stop and listen is the key to great two-way conversation. This is a skill that I need to practice more. I need to learn to listen wholeheartedly. When they are talking I shouldn't be thinking about what I am going to say next or my come back for the argument. I need to pay attention to what is being said. I need to start listening.

#3 COMMIT to being active.
Once I have listened, I need to be active in sharing. Sharing can be scary, especially if you have trust issues like I do. But without a response the conversation is one sided and nothing gets done. That doesn't mean I need to have the last word, but it does mean that I need to be open to letting someone else know me as I really am--flaws and all.

Take time today to STOP being selfish, START listening, and COMMIT to be active in the relationship. See if things don't start to improve. I'm going to try it and I hope you will too.

Getting a Haircut

Last night I went and got a haircut. I really like my new style. I am back to a short look, which I must say Jimmy enjoys. He told me that I should never let my hair grow as long as I had it in high school (when we first met). I don’t think he likes to be reminded of the fact that he is eight years older than me or that I was only sixteen when we met while he was twenty-four (don’t worry! Romantic thoughts never even entered our minds at that point! Ew!). So to honor him, I have kept my hair well above my waist since he made that request.  :)
Although I really love my new hairstyle, it wasn’t the most important thing about getting my hair cut. I actually attempted getting my haircut Wednesday afternoon at the Fantastic Sam’s near my house, but I waited and waited and waited and they were never able to get me in before I had to leave for church. So that was a no go. Last night, I went to pick up some groceries at Wal-Mart and noticed that there was no waiting at their SmartStyle so on an impulse I walked in and got my hair cut. The most important part of my haircut experience was meeting Michelle, the stylist. It wasn’t just because my hair turned out awesome! Michelle really encouraged me and I hope that I was able to encourage her too.

In the typical manner of hairdressers, she started up a conversation as she shampooed my hair. We talked about the work I do at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, and the ministry opportunities that come with it. Then we started talking about our youth groups. Michelle works with the youth at her church, and although I could tell that we weren’t the same denomination it was still neat to feel the mutual bond of trying to lead students down the path that God has laid out for them. We talked for the duration of the hair appointment and now I know why things didn’t pan out on Wednesday. God wanted me to meet Michelle!

It just goes to show you that God has a plan for our divine appointments. Sometimes there’s a reason that things just don’t go the way we planned. Thank God for the times that you don’t miss out on an opportunity to encourage or be encouraged because of your agenda. God even has a plan for our haircuts!