Watching Airplanes

........So, I’m sitting in one of those ultra inviting and comfortable seats in the MSP airport and I thought to myself, “I wish I hadn’t packed my journal in the bag that I just checked…” But, then I remembered I have an online blog I am trying to keep up with. So, I decided to seize the moment:

Today has been one that leaves my mind flooded with so many memories, thoughts, fears, and excitement-simultaneously. At the end of this day, I find myself in an airport watching airplanes (and hundreds of people) come and go. I think about all of the places I have been and people I have encountered and I am amazed and thankful but in a way, it also overwhelms me. It overwhelms me because I think of the strength and grace of God that have guided me through these journeys-I am humbled; it overwhelms me because I think of all of the people I have met and all of the relationships there are now to keep up with-I am blessed; it overwhelms me because I not only have a couple of months to go before the summer….but I also have the summer-which I am beyond excited about; finally, it overwhelms me because while I do have the summer left, it is all I have “left” of this chapter in my journey-and this kind of scares me. After August, I am no longer employed by YouthWorks and that makes me extremely sad but it also awakens so much excitement inside of me. I know that God is leading me and that alone brings me all of the peace I need for today.

So, those are my thoughts on this day. Here is a little update note about what I am actually doing for the next week:

I am headed to Billings, MT. tonight. I land around midnight then I will get up in the morning and drive 2 hours to Lame Deer to meet with some community friends then present YouthWorks to the school board tomorrow night. ..I am a little nervous, to say the least. It is funny how no matter how many times I do this-it always produces this little knot inside my stomach that never fails to affect me in one way or another. After the board meeting, I will head over to the YoungBears to see my little sis Shannon then drive 2 hours back to Billings to sleep. The next morning, I head to Seattle where I will meet with two of our site director candidates for recruiting before driving to Toppenish. I will be on the rez for a few days then will head back to Seattle, stay the night, then fly out the next morning to go back home to Minneapolis. It’s going to be a good trip that has me on the go quite a bit. I am excited to see my buddies though!! It will be a good “next to last” community development trip. Wow, that sounds so crazy to say. It is becoming more and more real to me as the weeks and months progress. The “future” is quickly approaching and all that I can think of in this space is something that Mother Theresa wrote and truly believed and that is this: I will not ask for clarity-only for faith. On this night, that idea sounds quite wonderful to me: I will forfeit clarity and cling to faith....