simple pleasures.

-tuesday after a picnic lunch, i carted along the youngest three to visit a friend with a shattered hip. M and L made cards for miss betty, and L brought her a beaded bracelet and home-cut roses in a jelly jar. the kids were shy at first, but miss betty is like sunshine in a hospital bed. i’m pretty sure my nine year old would still be chatting her up had i not eventually nudged him along to let her rest.

-mom owens left behind a foil bag of michigan cherry coffee, which i’ve been boiling up since the last lovely crumbs of my kona blend departed. it took a day or two to grow on me, but now that bright fruit smell seems just right for a june morning.

-this week saw our first meeting with our outbound leaders. they help us with coursework, growth, self-evaluation; keep us aiming true as we prep for the field. i love these people: they’re open and funny and they don’t gloss over the hard stuff about scrabbling out an existence in africa. (also, they told us we can tell if a snake is venomous by the puncture wounds. so helpful.)

-from time to time i pop in at ann voskamp’s place, and almost always walk away fuller. a few weeks back i bumped into this bit, and it’s been looping through my head ever since:

What is the worst thing that could possibly happen?
And there aren’t wolves, trouble, kids, hatred, debts, messes, betrayal, teenagers, disease, lack, hard times, untruths, diagnoses, or disappointment that can possibly separate you from the love of God. Nothing can separate you from Him.
So the Worst Case Senario? Is only the scenario of not wanting Christ the most.
So the Worst Case Scenario is only a possible scenario if you want something more than Christ.
If you want Christ the most, there is no worst case scenario.

[ann voskamp]

hoping for you and me both, that we’ll want Him most and only.