A Loves J: August 2015

Have you ever had one of those moments where you just look around, smile to yourself, and get that warm-fuzzy, life-is-so-sweet, kind of feeling? The kind of moment where you feel like your heart might burst from just feeling so happy ? It's the moment where you just sit there - wanting so desperately to bottle up the all-too-rare feeling of sheer contentment - before schedules and anxiety inevitably interrupt?

For me, those moments usually happen while driving in the car. They come on all of the sudden: windows-down, summertime sun making me squint, husband in the driver's seat, sandaled feet on the dashboard, driving to or from the beach. And as the [usually country] music blasts and the wind whips my tangly, unruly hair - I just breathe in the fresh, salty air as the New England world outside our window blurs into a vision of green, SO much green, wildflowers, and quaint homes that are too precious for real humans to actually inhabit -- and I take it all in.

It's in these moments, these brief moments of peaceful joy, that my soul remembers that things aren't as stressful as they seem and that life is, actually very wonderful.

We're currently in Kennebunkport with J's family and as I write this - I've somehow packed several of these too-few moments into the last 24 hours. We're staying in the most adorable cottage, backed by a perfect garden with secret benches, a lone chipmunk I call Alvin, and lots of perfect prayer spots. We're close to a beach and a bike ride away from town. We ate lobsters last night and then J and I biked into town with his sister, Jenna, and her husband, Collier. It was the kind of ride that reminded you of childhood, where at some points you're zooming so fast down a hill that you're not sure if you're going to crash to your death or just take off the ground altogether. I'm close to deciding that this is what heaven is like.

Also, someone may or may not have fallen of their bike and into a bush and I may or not still be laughing about it. Ahem, Collier.

I know this moment won't last forever, and I know that even this moment will have its imperfections - but I also know that God must love making moments like this for us. Giving us snap-shots of all-encompassing joy and a taste of our future home with him.

So as August nears its middle and September (and increased responsibility) creeps closer, I plan on savoring every last sweet moment of summertime bliss in Vacationland, USA.