July 17, 2015

seven | seventeen | two thousand fifteen


 Hello, Douglas Mac.


We've been waiting for you. Did you know you're five days late?


You weigh 10 pounds and 2 ounces. You're 22 inches long. 


I hope you don't mind all of the staring, you're just so sweet and cute. And big.


Your big sister thinks you belong to her. You kind of do, but we all feel that way so welcome to our family.


We will try to get you to call me Aunt Kelley, but Jackson told me it's really hard to remember the "aunt". That's ok.


We believe the more the merrier, so you have made us very happy.





July 16, 2015

the longing for heaven

I mentioned in my last post that I was considering sharing my thoughts on the recent Supreme Court ruling. I had pretty much decided not to, until I was reading today, and a sentence really stood out to me.

But if it were all such as this, where would the longing for heaven be?

There are times, where I live, when it's easy to forget everything that's going on in the rest of the world. When I got online that Friday and saw all the headlines and the rainbow graphics, I was totally surprised and confused. It didn't take a second of reading though before I figured out exactly what had happened...and I couldn't believe that I was reading about America. I couldn't believe that once again, the government had overruled what we'd already voted against (my state, anyway). It was an awful realization, and a terrible feeling. For the rest of the weekend I was ready to charge D.C. and sign any petition sent to me.
 
 And then Sunday came and went, and summer camps began, and while I still discussed it occasionally with my friends, for the most part it got pushed to the back of my mind, more important things taking priority in my thoughts. As they should.

Because no matter how small my town is, no matter that I'm planted in the center of the Bible belt, no matter how fiercely independent the South likes to be, we are not exempt from being infiltrated with the perversion of a filthy world.

As much as I'd love to hide in the hills surrounding me and live the rest of my life in one of the many valleys or hollows in my area, that is not the reality of this life. I wish everything everywhere were as beautiful and serene as certain days in my life are all the time.


But if it were all such as this, where would the longing for heaven be?

The longing for heaven is near. Nearer than before, and I believe closer than ever.

When I spend the day with my nephews and niece, when I walk outside at 7am and it's already nearly 80 degrees, when the sunshine seems to warm me from the inside out. A little heaven coming down to kiss my life.


But if it were all such as this...

Time with family. Laughter with friends. Singing. Reading. 


...where would the longing for heaven be?

I am saddened and disappointed by my country, but I have a deeper sense of desire for the home to come. This is where the longing for heaven is.