Came a Rain.

Today it came a rain. Yeah-"came a rain"-thats how my Gran says it! When I was in DC it rained a couple of times but never those warm spring rains that make everything 15times greener than they were before. I kept saying"when I get home I hope we get a good warm rain". Well today we got it!
It was over by 5 and the ditches infront of my house were flowing...so I jumped out of J's truck & did something I hadn't done in years. I threw in a stick & watched it make its way down the "river". For the next 30 minutes I told Jeffrey how I was the Champion Ditch Floater when I was little & he stayed outside & laughed at me as I reveled in my childhood.
That's just another thing I'm thankful for-Spring rains & flowing ditches. Although that made my dirt muddy so I couldn't put my toes in it...but soon... I'll have a whole blog about that.
Thanks God for good warm rains-flowin ditches-and boyfriends who don't care that I'm a little bit tomboy!

70 miles...

My whole life I've lived 5 minutes from the Kentucky border. Usually I pay no attenion when I'd cross the border to get gas or visit my Aunt. But today I crossed Kentucky on the other side & I've never been happier.
Over my right shoulder is the big U of K & in front of me is Louisville. Then there's a stretch of road that makes me both happy & sad. The long road home...Let me tell you when I cross that state line- I might just cry.
Because I know that on the West side of the Lincoln memorial there is a name carved just above a roman column & it says Illinois.
It was the state that made Lincoln great & its the state I call home.

The End.

Today is April the 18th. Today is my last day in the District.
This morning I got up & went into the city one last time. I visited George & sat leaning up against him & remembered...
I remembered a young country girl visiting D.C. for the first time. I remembered how Megan Wurtele & I opened the windows of our hotel room so we could "hear the city". I remembered vowing from that last day that I would come back.
I remembered the rejection when I didn't get accepted the first time. I remembered watching snow fall & knowing that my God had planned the snowfall just for me. I remembered wanting to give up & come home,but persevering.
I remembered the sad day when I realized that I was coming back to IL soon.

This morning I sat at the foot of George & I sang those same words that Mrs.P sang to us 5 years ago on a boat in the Potomac-"My Country 'Tis of Thee, Sweet land of Liberty of Thee I sing..."

And I remembered, that no matter where I am. He is always there too. And no matter what happens He has my best interest in mind. And I will forever trust in Him. Because the grass will wither, the flowers will fade- & eventually George will crumble...But the Word of my Lord will stand forever!

George.

This is George.

He's the first think I see when I get into my city.
And he's my favorite.

I think because I can usually see him from anywhere.
Today I got to see him for one of the last times in the daylight.
And he was glorious.
But a gentle reminder that my weeks here in my city are coming to a close.
It's a sad day, but also a scary, happy and nervous one.

I'll be paying George one more visit on my last day.
Because you just can't leave without saying goodbye.

4 years ago I didn't say goodbye, I said "I'll be back someday"
And I did.
I came back.
So who knows, maybe Sunday will be more of a "See ya later"rather than a GoodBye.

Everything....

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom
what God has done from beginning to end.

Spring has come and gone here in the District.
The Cherry Blossoms smelled and looked beautiful.
And the whole time I was looking at them I kept thinking that this was my last few weeks here.
As my last day of my internship approached I've never felt such peace.
One of my favorite teachers used to quote Micah 6:8 to us.
"And what doth the Lord require of you?
But to act justly and to love mercy
and walk humbly with your God."

All my life my parents have instilled within me that character is the greatest thing we can have.
On Friday, I sat across a desk from the President of a company who told me
that my character, attitude and personality were wonderful.
And that.
That was worth the heartache and the loneliness that I might have felt these 12 weeks.
So as I prepare to pack up and come home.
I am reminded that our inward heart reflects to our outward attitude.

And God has made everything beautiful in His time.

Dirt.

I love dirt. I do. I love it. Freshly plowed dirt that's cold and damp. The way it squishes between your toes, and the smell.
Ahh~the smell. That's almost as good as the squishing.
When I was little I spent my whole summer with my hands in dirt making mud pies. I decorated them with rocks and flowers.
Then when I got a little older I would spend springs with my Auntie Weezy. We would start out at the greenhouse-picking just the right flowers for the millions of pots at her house. She taught me how to make sure the plants were healthy. She always said it wasn't so much about if the flowers were blooming-but how green the leaves were. She taught me how to mix & match to make up a palate. Then we'd load up the car with flowers, potting soil and head off to the house. I'm sure we had to get an ice cream in there some where! We'd walk all over the hill and set out specific flowers in specific pots. Mixing the colors and heights. Then we'd plant. I can't explain how the dirt between my fingers felt-I didn't even mind that it got under my nails. We'd talk and plant. Always starting in the middle of the pot. Dig the holes~with our fingers~then put some water in and cover up the roots.
Everything I learned about flowers I learned from Weezy. Later, mom and I would go get flowers for our house. I got to do the picking and planting.
It's amazing how much you can learn from a Saturday spent with your aunts. As I got older, I got busier and Weezy started picking and planting her flowers without me.

This year I'm surrounded by concrete and asphalt, instead of fields and tractors. And I miss dirt. I miss the rawness of it. The pure excitement of digging my hands into a pot of dirt, just waiting for flowers. Wiggling my toes in a freshly plowed garden.

~But in a special little corner of Washington DC the Cherry Blossoms are bloomin'. For a few more weeks, I get to experience what people come from all over the world to experience. And those sweet Cherry Blossoms remind me of my Weezy and dirt.~