3 Steps to Walking on Water

Ok, y’all, I’ve figured out something so exciting. This girl has figured out something that many have pondered. I hope you’re ready for this, because today I am going to tell you how to … wait for it …. WALK ON WATER! Yes, you read that right. Now, get your eyes ready for what you are about to read, because there are only three simple steps. Ready? I hope so! Here goes!

Step 1) Trust God

Step 2) Get out of the boat

Step 3) Move forward

I would like to tell you that I figured this out in a moment in life that was full of peace and certainty, and also at a time where Step 1 came easy for me. But, I won’t lie to you. Peace and certainty do not apply to how I have felt today, and trusting God has not come easily during these moments. Quite frankly, I did not want to get out of the boat today. I didn’t want to have to trust God with all that’s in me while walking on the water, especially when it felt like the “waves” of life were trashing all around me. I repeat, I did not want to get out of the boat. As my husband said earlier today, we were pushed out of the boat. No voluntary leaps here, folks. So, having been pushed out I had a decision to make. Either I can sink, drown, wallow in fear OR I can fix my eyes on Jesus, walk on the water, and move forward.

This isn’t the only boat I’ve been shoved out of lately. A few months ago, God took our family through another experience that the required the faith and trust that must come with walking on the water. I didn’t catch on so quickly to Step 3 with that experience. I chose to be consumed by the circumstances of the waves, and did not keep my eyes above them (fixed on Jesus) while moving forward. I allowed bitterness and fear to creep in and I began to sink – but never, ever too far from His hand. Oh, how I love Jesus!

This time though, I’m walking on the water. I am fixing my eyes on Jesus and moving forward while trusting that what He has ahead for us is far better than anything I could possibly ever imagine. I am taking off the garments of worry and fear and putting on the garment of praise. I may not have chosen to be kicked out of the boat, but I AM choosing to trust God and walk on the water. I know He’s got me, and if you’re going through your own “out of the boat” experience, be encouraged because I know that He’s got you, too.

Blessings,

Hannah

Lessons from Lunch at a Cemetery

Death. The ultimate ending point of life. It’s a word that all of us know, and that most of us have felt the harsh reality of. I remember the first time I experience the finality of death. I was in the 2^nd grade, and our lab (Duke) was hit by a car. Little did I know the person who comforted me on that Tuesday would be the next person who I would be faced with losing in life.  

My Granny exited this life and entered eternity on June 20^th, 2000. Yesterday would have been her 71^st birthday. I. LOVE. BIRTHDAYS. I find great joy in celebrating the people in life that I love, so it shouldn’t be a huge surprise to you to know that I still celebrate my Granny’s birthday. When I was younger, I would make her a card, and bury it somewhere outdoors (I’m not really sure what the child-like logic of that was – but I did it, every year, without fail). The January after I got my license, I started a new tradition of lunch at the cemetery.  For the past six years on a day in the middle of January, I have made my way to the cemetery armed with Mellow Yellow (the only thing I can remember her enjoying food/beverage wise with the exception of liver, which isn’t happening for this girl) and a beach towel. I sit, and celebrate her life .. and, if I’m honest with you, sometimes cry that it was over so soon.

But, that isn’t exactly what I’m here to write about. Sandra Aldrich Headley (Sandra Kaye Aldrich) was born and a Tuesday, and died on a Tuesday. As I sat today, I thought about how those two Tuesdays defined what every stranger that has ever looked at her headstone thought of her life. Yes, January 18, 1944 and June 20, 2000 are important dates, but I think all of Tuesdays in between are what mattered the most. Like the Tuesday that she held me as I cried over our lost family pet, or the Tuesday that she went for a swim with me, and definitely the Tuesday that she dressed up as Raggedy Ann for my birthday. All of those days are what made her life, not just the day she was born and the day she died.

All of my life I have heard how short life is, and recently I’ve discovered the truth in that statement. As a result, I am working towards being content with each day of my life. No longer looking forward to the next phase of life, but truly loving the one I am in. I am focusing on enjoying this day – because I know that I’ll never get it back. So, today, as you go through life, remember that one day you’ll be remembered by a headstone with two dates that are important, but that it is all of the days in between that truly matter.

Let your light shine. Be kind. Most importantly, enjoy today for today, and not because it takes you one step closer to tomorrow.

 

Blessings, 

Hannah