Pressing On

I thought it would be a good idea to use my laptop outside… But of course, all I can see on the screen is a reflection of me making a very squinty face. Because it’s sunny! And I’m not moving inside, because the sun is worth it. 

I have been quite negligent lately in my blog-writing. Mostly because it has been February. Even though awesome things have happened this month (seeing Brett for 5 DAYS, getting my summer job figured out, fun roommate adventures…) I just am not eloquent or even very pensive this month. I don’t like to think during February. It’s my “take a break from life” month. Which doesn’t work very well, because the rest of the world does not honor this tradition. 

But now it is March, and I must once again be insightful and awesome.

By the way, I think it’s safe to announce that I am officially going to be the Ranch SALT leader at Cascades this summer! I am getting more and more excited about it every day. I thought I was done with camp, but I somehow found myself applying for kitchen and O-team, and unintentionally ended up at the Ranch, yet again! This is going to be great, folks.

It would be really cool if I was good at writing songs. But I am not, so here is a link to Relient K’s “Pressing On”, which I have been listening to ad nauseum lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLNcsqHwoXI

I believe Relient K is somewhat timeless, because they have killer lyrics.

Let me talk about some of the especially poignant lines:

“I think we’re going somewhere, we’re on to something good here…”

This has been a big theme in a lot of conversations I’ve had lately. The question is, “Is the grass really greener on the other side?” (You’ll see how this connects soon) The answer is, “no”. That is, not necessarily. Illustration: I was watching “Stranger than Fiction” last night (which I think might have just made it into my top 5 movies), and realized that it was filmed in Chicago. I recognized various streets that I’ve walked down many times, and I got really excited. Chicago is a pretty awesome city, I will never deny that. But most of the time I was there, I wanted to be anywhere else. Now I’m living in Bellingham, thinking about how great Chicago is. So the REAL question is, “Why is contentment so difficult?” I was talking to my friend on the phone a couple days ago, and she said that she’s afraid of being too content, because she doesn’t want to get stuck in one place. And I think there is something to that. I am afraid of being stuck in Washington, because I am comfortable here. I have to go out and find challenging things here, whereas most places I have been over the past four years have been challenging by nature. And I want to have so many more adventures! I have to dream about other places, so that some of those dreams can actually happen! But I want so desperately to fully embrace every place that I find myself in. And it’s hard to do that when I don’t want to stay too long.

Let’s turn around and look at the Bible.

Paul says,

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:11-14

Really, Paul? Please, share with me this secret of contentment, because it is not easy. I would like to know his definition of contentment. I could ponder that for several blog posts. But I won’t… Anyway. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength”. Amen. Now if only I could figure out how to always let God give me strength instead of ignoring him, like a fool… (Side note: Read “The Practice of the Presence of God”, by Brother Lawrence)

Yikes. Sorry about all that. I hate longwinded blog posts.

So, back to Relient K. “I think we’re going somewhere.” I am not stuck here. My life is in motion, even within the confines of Bellingham. “We’re onto something good here.” There are awesome things going on all over the place, and I encourage anyone who stuck it out all the way to the end of this blog post to look around them and see that “we’re onto something good here”.

“And I won't sit back, and take this anymore

'Cause I'm done with that, I've got one foot out the door

And to go back where I was would just be wrong

I’m pressing on”