Surprise.

The past couple of months have been full of surprises, many of them centered around snow, many of them involving cancelling events that I was so excited to share with my youth: Christmas caroling, tubing, breakfasts, Crave, and even events we'd planned for Sunday mornings. As I sat down in my office yesterday, frustrated, disheartened, and just plain fed up with the amount of to-dos and cancellations. Then I got an email from a parent. God has a way of letting you think you are going somewhere to do good and it is those you are 'serving' that replenish you.

It was some meditations she had had on the snow, on how Christ had given us this bounty of precipitation to replenish our land and give us TIME. Time to be with God, time to be with the people God has given us to share our lives with. It was my ah-ha moment. Jay reminds me often of my need for constant 'stimulation' as he calls it. I am either going, getting ready to go, or gone. I am at the gym, at church, with the kids, walking the dogs, on the computer, or on the phone. I've even found myself being one of 'those people' checking my email at stop lights.

How does that bring glory to God?

My need to be connected often leaves me disconnected from the one thing that is important. Maybe it really was me that brought the snow, it was God telling me: EMILY... SLOW DOWN ALREADY! The gym is closed, your car is stuck, your electricity is off. The material is not an option right now, but you do have your husband, your dogs, and lots and lots of snow to walk through. That is exactly what we did.

I am still figuring out this 'being a youth minister' thing. I am still figuring out a lot of things in my life. My mom has always told me that your 20's are about adventures and discovering. This week I have discovered that I need to spend more time stopping and less time going. I need to listen to that still small voice and to do that, I need to turn a lot of other things off for a while.

I moved across the country to be here, in this place, right now, because I know that this is where Christ wants me. I am here to let my lifesong sing to Christ and show my youth how to do the same. I think that may mean not checking my email at stoplights. It may mean slowing down and listening to what else God has in store for me.