End Of The Road.

Happy Last Day of February!
May next month be healthier than the last.

I Will Let God Write My Story.

That was the theme for the GA Lock-In this weekend. I WILL let God write my story. It's kind of a hard concept for 1st through 6th grade girls to grasp. But man, I sure learned a lot. When He spoke through me, He captured my heart more than anyone's.

Mary, Jesus' mother, did NOT plan on getting pregnant out of wedlock, becoming the mother of the Savior of the World, and seeing Him murdered on a cross. God intervened in a big way, changing... everything. But Mary's attitude is what surprised me the most. She went from, "Are you sure you have the right person?" flabbergasted to, "Okay, Lord, I am Your servant" acceptance, to "I am SO blessed!" excitement and worship.

WORSHIP. God changed everything and she worshipped.

I do not have that kind of reaction when God changes my plans. I usually get angry, like "How DARE You change my plans, God!" I can't believe my attitude sometimes. But because of Mary's humble acceptance and obedience, the whole world was blessed. I will never be involved of the birth of the Savior, but He does have a divine purpose for MY life, too. Do I miss that divine purpose when I foolishly follow my will rather than His?

God does have a better plan for my life than I do. In every area of my life. Where I will live. What I will do. Who I will marry. What car I will drive. Everything is better when He is in control. After all, Jesus came that I would have abundant life, not just an average life. I can trust Him. I really really can.

But already that is being tested. He has already rewritten my plan this weekend and already I am called to trust Him again, to follow Him, to put my heart and rust in Him alone.

When God and I don't talk for hours, how do I feel?
Do I have good communication skills with my Lord?
Do we spend a lot of time together? Or is it just face-time work?

No matter how hard it is, I will let God write my story. Especially if I want an "And they lived happily ever after; Great job, good and faithful servant!" at the end of it.

Analogies.

So So So Funny.

Funny like when someone sticks their tongue to a pole in the winter and rips it off in a really painful way.

Tuesday Tribute!

It has been a LONG time since I have composed a Tuesday Tribute. MONTHS, in fact. But it's time.



Dear LDB,

I'm SO GLAD we are long-distance buddies!! I've missed you and our friendship - we had fun in high school! Sometimes I forget that we were such good friends. But we really were. I am thankful for that. It's like, each time I prayed for a good Christian friend, you came into my life.

Oh my gosh - that time we hung out in Palmer with Jen and Titus randomly?! Haha, V-Ho, and taking pictures, and we went to that park that has the spinny thing.
I don't remember hiking in Hatchers, but I remember when we hung out in Anchorage. You had mono :( (BTW, I think I might have mono now... I'll know tomorrow.) We "hiked" up to Thunderbird Falls.

Literally. That's how God worked it out.
You are my answer to prayers.

It's funny how our lives are similar now. Like relationships and jobs and even what God is teaching us. I like that. Often, I miss having girlfriends with whom I can discuss the Bible and what I am learning and whatnot. How great is that, that now we can do that again.

Lovely.

Thanks for being my friend again. You're great :)

Love,
Melissa

Learning.

People don't teach me things; God does.
That's great if I have a mentor, but our mentoring relationship can't be about her, or even me. It HAS to be about God and what He is doing/has done.
Because remember? He teaches me things; not her.

That's all.

Ghana As You Fly By.

During the week, my mind is totally focussed on my job, working out, and making sure I see my parents and Chris. And GAs. It's not until Thursday or Friday that I realize it's the weekend and I could see people if I wanted to. I don't always want to.

I am learning. A new mentorship with my Pastor's wife. A job where I am daily challenged. Figuring out how to be an adult.
I am teaching. GAs is a blessing. My students are improving in their reading.

My life is full. But I am even more looking forward to the future.

Love.

It's this thing about leaving your parents and becoming one with your spouse. It makes things a little difficult. Like living at home without your special someone. Time. Time. Merging of lives throughout time.

Trust.

It's a test of trust. What does love mean to us? How do we talk and dig and forgive?

It makes me anxious and like I don't know what to do.
The future is a scary thing.

Love.

http://mrmrsglobetrot.blogspot.com/

That's all.

Highlights and Lowlights.

- Being home sick from work for two days... but crocheting a sweater during my downtime!
- A really delicious hamburger last night, with a half avocado on top.
- Getting to buy new painting supplies.
- A cake ball from HanHan. (It was so yummy.)
- Free haircuts.
- Cussing in church.
- Forgiveness.
- Coffee dates that are enveloped in heart-to-hearts.
- Uncertainty and anger.
- Three day weekend.

That basically sums it all up.

To My Reflection In The Mirror.

Dear Melissa,

This is my last letter. What an interesting journey these letters have taken me on. I've been forced to think about some things. And Melissa, I think you are stronger now. Stronger, and more in love, and more aware.

Looking in the mirror, I have to say - you are beautiful. You are professional. You are a teacher who can and does change lives. You make a difference. Right now, you have a cold and don't feel well, but you are still lovely and worth it.

You can do it.

Dream big. Bigger! Keep dreaming. But include other people in those dreams. And help others achieve their dreams, too. Encourage, don't damper them.

Don't beat yourself up anymore. Do what you love and love what you do, regardless of what the number on the scale says. Zumba your heart out, run if you want to, and keep working on that 6-pack. You can do it. When you set goals, keep working even when it gets hard. Just because something is hard, that doesn't mean you should stop. Remember? Chris taught you that. Persevere. It's worth it.

Look to the future, but don't forget the past; that's how you learn.

Love,
Melissa

To The Person That I Want To Tell Everything To, But Am Too Afraid To.

Sometimes I am scared - hesitant - to talk to You. I think You are too busy running the universe to listen to me.
But then I remember that I am Your bride - that You delight in listening to me, in spending time with me.
Today, You reminded me that You send Your angels to rally around me, to fight battles for me, that through them You have spared me from many tragedies.

Lord, why would I NOT want to tell you everything? You are everything. Everything lovely and pure and perfect and inventive and intuitive and strong. Oh, Father. Husband. Romancer. Brother. Friend.

You are all I need; I can tell you everything. I do not need to fear.

Humbly,
Your Servant.

To Someone That Changed My Life.

Dear Tahmee,

You changed my life. Did you know that? Will you ever know that? If I return to your home in South Africa, will you remember me? Will you allow me to hug you?

You were two years old and you had AIDS. You didn't smile, didn't laugh, didn't play until I had been there a few days, consistently smiling at you. Then you... changed. Never the same, from what I saw. How did you change my life? More than anything, you are the one who opened my eyes to the transforming power of love. I now believe that, by golly, love can do anything. Love can change anything. There is more power in love than anything else.

I hope you are happy and healthy. I hope you are adopted one day. But more than anything, I hope that you come to the saving knowledge of Christ so that you can experience His transforming love, too.

Yes, those are my hopes for you.

Sometimes I am caught off guard by how our lives are so different. How you were chosen to be born in Africa, to an ill mother who did not want to take care of you, or who was unable to take care of you. How I was chosen to be born in Alaska. But by the grace of God, our lives still crossed paths.

Beautiful, precious Tahmee.
Love,
Moleesa.

To The Friendliest Person I Knew For Only One Day.

(*This one is hard for me. It's true, I have a tendency not to remember people. I'll remember faces, but not necessarily any connection we have. Thus, it's hard to think back on one person, from one day. Also, it takes A LOT for me to consider someone a Friend. I may know someone for years - literally - before I think of them as a friend. For that reason, I choose to change it from a "Day" to a "Week." Deal with it.)

Dear Sheila and family,

Oh my gosh. Visiting you in Virginia/Washington D.C. that one spring break was so random and ridiculous. Here I was, a little white girl from Alaska spending all this time with an African-American family in D.C. that I literally did not know at all. Well, okay, I had met Sheila once. For one day. Or two. The trip could have gone awfully, horribly, awry. But it didn't!

You were so friendly - giving me virtually free reign of your basement, taking me to the Circus, allowing us to explore D.C. on our own, taking us to dinner that one night where we each had like 12 courses. Our eyes were much bigger than our stomachs.

I loved going to your job, Sheila's Mom, and learning about what you do. I am, still, so in awe of the love and friendship in your family, how you welcomed me in even though you didn't know me from Eve. Thank you for that.

Man, I had forgotten all about this. Flying into the airport, not knowing at all who I was looking for, or what to expect. Not even knowing you had a sister, then all of a sudden, there was a girl holding a sign with my name on it. We drove through DC "on the way home" at night. That was cool.

You're all cool. Thanks for a wonderful time. You are indeed the Friendliest People I Knew For Only One Week!!

Love,
Your White Alaskan Daughter.

aka, Melissa

To The Last Person To Whom I Made A Pinky Promise.

Dear K.W.,

Today, you were really frustrated during Sonday. We were reading aloud and you missed quite a few words. I know that you just want to be smart and you don't think you are.

But you are smart. You have such perseverance.

You know, every student has a hard time. It's hard learning to read. The important thing, though, is to never give up. Keep practicing. Read all you can, even if the books are below your grade level. Just keep going.

I pinky-promised that we still like you, that we still want you in our class, even if you think you aren't a good reader. You are still valuable. Please don't allow stress of "not being a good student" keep you down.

That's all.

Sincerely,
Ms. Krauss

To The Person I Know That Is Going Through The Worst Of Times.

Dear friends at OBU,

PLEASE don't die in this snowstorm. I know, it is the worst of times. But you will survive. You will make it through the nearly week off of school, the playing in the snow, the hot chocolate and sledding. You are survivors. You're gonna make it. You are survivors. Keep on survivin'.

My advice? Play outside with friends. Take epic pictures. Dress really cutely. Chalk a wall. Make a snowman. Don't let this time pass you by because when it's gone, all you'll want is for it to come back. Trust me.

Go on an epic hunt for Frosty. Make a snowdog and put a leash on him. Make a snowangel army.

Praise God for the beauty around you, for digital cameras and internet, for warm boots and warm apartments/dorms.

And do your homework! Read. But don't stress over it.

Mostly, have fun and be creative.
Love,
Melissa

To The Person That Gave Me My Favorite Memory.

Dear Jordan, Hannah, Kyle, Daniel, and in a way, Steve,

So many of my favorite memories took place in India with you. Falling in poop on the way to dinner. Our cancelled flight home. Riding elephants in the rain. Dancing in that one village where they made fun of us. Being arrested. The power outage and sharing our stories. The Hindi Catholic service. "Seester! Seester! You from Amreeka?" Speaking French and Spanish to throw off their trail. The "Sister Discount." Gathering in the evening to share about our days.

But the story I love to tell most - more than any story in my life - is the story of when I wet the bed, and all your reactions to it.

We had stayed up late talking, playing Truth or Dare. And I fell asleep first. That was a mistake. I woke up a few hours later to a SOAKING wet bed, and 4 friends who were out cold, dead asleep. I had to climb over you to get to the bathroom to change. Then, asking each of you what happened. You didn't know what I was talking about.

Love, love.

There are not many people with whom I would be comfortable admitting that I wet the bed. But you -you are family, like it or not. I think I believe that you did not, in fact, pour water in my bed. But if it ever comes out that you did, I would laugh so hard, and still love you terribly with a big piece of my heart.

I miss you guys. A lot. I miss our laughing and singing together in the shower, and how Hannah slept in a sweatshirt every night, even though it was the middle of summer. And how we played Singing Nerts.

But wetting the bed. That was the best. The funniest.

You are the best - the funniest.
Thanks for being in my life, for making that memory MUCH less traumatizing than it could have been.

All My Love,
Melissa