update: december-february

Ahhh an update. It has been a while and some very big things have been happening. In all the whirlwind of holidays and a new year and getting back into the swing of things and the million other daily things, there has been little time to digest all that has come in these past few months. But now is the time. They must be documented if we are I am to fully remember.

So, here we go…

Steve Graduates

The week before Christmas, this giant thing happened. And I do mean giant. That hubs of mine walked across a stage at Southern Methodist University and accepted his Master’s in Business Administration.

Seriously. Just like that. He made his way, one foot in front of the other, and closed this gigantic door on school. Can we just pause for a minute to sing the Hallelujah chorus for a while?  It was so good. It was so fun. And it was so celebrated.

Because this journey has been a long one. Much longer than the 2 years he spent in those lecture hall seats, and study group rooms at the library, and in the quietest places he could find in our house. It has been a journey that reaches back and touches times long before we were married. Perhaps even before we graduated from high school. This journey. This long road. Has been one the Lord has been paving throughout Steve’s life. I can see it. Not fully of course, but what I can see is astounding. It blows my mind any time I think about it.

Because this dude. This guy who is smart and capable and kind and hard-working and determined and a million other good things. This guy has not always know where he was headed. He flew blind for the majority of college. Not knowing where his passions in work lay. Not knowing which “life” to choose. Because in this particular culture, your career is kind of your life. It determines everything. And that guy. That one who is sure of so many things, he just wasn’t sure of “life”.

Gosh and that has been hard. If we can be honest. That has been so hard. For him. For me. For parents and friends. Because not knowing requires mounds of faith that whatever is to come is best. A best that you can’t imagine. That for good or bad in this world, what is best is what is ahead. And that is a hard reminder in the now. In the then.

So he tried his hand at teaching. And he was good. He loved those students well. He worked hard to be what they needed, both as an educator and as an advocate. He was just really good. And I know that that time was not without purpose. There was so much that that time brought for his character and for our marriage and for many other things that I am surely not aware of. Stability. Confidence. Compassion. Eyes to see how others live. Grace to live when others aren’t kind.

But that didn’t quite work. It wasn’t a forever thing. And again that was hard. Hard to quit without anything left to stand on. Hard to determine what came next. Hard to search and search and search and seem to come up short without something substantial.

But the Lord was so good. He was so very present in the search. In the pause. In the seeming Limbo. If there is ever a time that I doubt the Lord’s goodness, that time of searching is what I look back to. Because while Steve was absolutely a rock and did whatever he could to provide for our family, we could not have made it without the Lord’s kindness in provision. There is just no way.

And again there was growth. Humility in knowing we were in no way in control. The Lord was. Strength in our marriage as we leaned in and trusted one another where we might not have otherwise. Open eyes to spot the provision of the Lord each month. Each day. Each breath.

And finally after a year and a half of searching there it was. A job. A full-time job. At a really cool company. So much opportunity. So much to learn. And we breathed. For two years it felt like we just breathed.

But there was this constant nudging in Steve’s mind that he should go back to school. It would not leave. It would not relent. And so school, as scary and expensive as it was, started. In the most humbling of ways. It shoved us both out of our comfort zone and forced exposure in places within us both that needed some adjusting.

And Steve worked. He worked at school and he worked at work. And all the time the Lord covered us with His kindness. Building confidence in us that His purposes were good. All the time.

Jobs have shifted multiple times since school has begun for Steve. And each time he transitions, there seems to be this unmistakable reminder that the Lord had this thing the whole time. This crazy path that we have taken (and I am sure we are still on) wasn’t (isn’t) for naught. There is purpose in our days. There is reason for our movements.

And so to watch that man walk that stage was huge. It was so big. Because the Lord has done big things. The Lord is doing big things. And that stage and that diploma and that moment was this giant reminder that He is up to something. And it is good. And it is best. And we can trust that in all things. In all seasons. That there is purpose in our days. There is reason for our movements. They are not in vain. They are useful. Hallelujah! And Pony Up!

                  

                  

                     

NYC!!

And so to celebrate this massive thing that had just happened, we hopped on a plane and flew to one of our favorite cities. And it was simply wonderful.

It was meant to be a celebration for just us two. Time to just be and do and go. And sometimes my steep expectations cause disappointment. I have experienced a lot of this in my time. I build and build and build my expectations of a perfect something and then am terribly hurt and disappointed when it doesn’t look just so. So I was wary of putting too much on this trip. Of causing it to break before it ever had a shot at being good.

But this trip was the opposite of disappointing. It was pretty perfect actually. All that we wanted to do was done. There was walking in a city filled with people and the tallest of buildings. And there was riding on subways, which just never gets old. And there was food. Oh, there was food. And there was Central Park and time to just sit and breathe and feel light and free. And there were shows. So many shows. Musicals and plays alike. And they were wonderful. Because there is just something about being in the theater in New York City that cannot be reproduced. And there was beautiful, not-so-cold weather for which I was beyond grateful. And there were giant Christmas trees and festivities of my favorite kind.

It was just so good. Such a celebration. Of the closing of a big fat school door. Of the opening of whatever door is next. It was just good.

Steve Is an Adult

That’s what 30 means to me at least. Adulthood. And Stevie is there. He did it. He made it.

And we celebrated by playing. That’s the adult thing to do, right?

We played sand volleyball in the middle of January. And we ate pizza. And we ate cake. And we invented hashtags.

And it was so fun.

Because that guy who graduated this year. Who became (in my mind) an adult. He loves fun. And I love the reminder in things like a birthday party that I married someone who will never stop enjoying life. That my choice in him was to live life. And to have fun doing it. Because Stevie ain’t living life any other way. And I so need that reminder. The Lord is good to give it to me through my sweet husband.

And so fun it is. For better or for worse, we will live this thing. And we will laugh as we do.

Sis Turns 27

And yet another birthday has greeted us in this new year. My sweet sister is now a year older. And it has been a doozie of a year. It has been all of the extremes. And it has revealed much in the way of what this life really is.

And I am stumped. Because there are just no words sufficient enough to explain all that I think of my sister. But blogs are about the words. So this is my best offering.

She is three years younger than me and the absolute wisest person I know. She is in this crazy, deep pursuit of the Lord. She desires with each of her days to develop His character. Really unlike anyone else I have ever met. She perseveres through the hard seasons with bravery and grace. And in it all she praises the Lord for His goodness and kindness in letting her experience any of it.

Seriously, I think every prayer I have heard her pray begins with praise. Because the Lord is just good. And she fully accepts that. Despite the way her days appear at times. 

And so, she is just my heart. I really feel like that’s the best I’ve got. She is just my heart. She gets me in ways no one else really does. She see straight to the heart of me in a way only a sister could possibly do.

She is who I aspire to be when I grow up and get real with God. And so we celebrated her birthday (or close to it) the best way I know how: praising the Lord for his goodness at an All Son’s and Daughter’s concert. And it was so good.

The Politte Babies Are Here!!!

Oh, gosh. Those babies. Those two perfect and tiny babies. We were able to meet those little guys on the 14^th after seemingly the longest 3 days of waiting ever. Schedules and sickness prevented our visiting them any earlier, but our time with them was so very sweet and full of love. Perfect for a day such as Valentine’s.  

To say that we love Nat and Stephen would be a giant understatement. They are the sweetest of friends. So to see them in this new role of parent was beyond exciting. They were so good and so willing to do whatever necessary to take the best care of their two little dudes. Who by the way are perfect. Did I say that?

It was such a fun time of visiting and snuggling and picture snapping and just breathing in this new and crazy change. They are parents. To two. It is so insane and so well-suited. Those little guys are beyond lucky to have such sweet and intentional parents.

And as I paused to look back on my years and years of friendship with my sweet Natalie friend, it was (and is) oh so evident that the Lord’s hand has been there. Guiding our conversations and our paths to continually parallel and intertwine. And I just cannot be thankful enough for this next step. These two additions to the family. I cannot wait for the conversations to come. For the honesty to come. For the joy to come. I cannot wait to walk this journey alongside this sweet little family.

10 Years Down

It has been ten very full and very sweet years since I started dating my husband. A decade. Seriously.

And what is there to say? It has been such a ride. Unexpected and fun and playful and hard and character building and prayer-filled and a million other things. He holds all of my firsts. First boyfriend. First date. First kiss. First love. And I am happy to say that it was him. The Lord was gracious in allowing him to be mine.

And so Saturday the 14^th we celebrated big. We celebrated ten years of being best friends. We celebrated ten years of living life together. And it was a sweet, life-giving day. A day of reminders to hold tight and love deep. To take advantage of time and opportunity.

Because the past few weeks have been hard. They have been the weeks that every married couple knows. Where things just don’t click like they normally do. Things just seem to be off. No one means the other harm, but things seem to constantly be harmful.

And so this celebration was one that served as a reminder. Of love.

That love is hard. And it is work. And it requires constant laying down of self. It is sacrifice. It lives out the promises it made all those years ago. It sometimes keeps quiet to protect and other times shouts out for the same reason. It believes in the other person. It sees their good. Even when the clouds of resentment or self-righteousness surround. It fights against the urge to become stagnant and comfortable. It presses in when things are off. When kindness and grace are needed most. It does not harbor the errors of the past. It looks forward and dreams of what might be. It cries out to God on behalf of each other. It holds hands just because. It is there always. It does not fail.

Reminders like these are so desperately needed.  And Saturday was filled to the brim with them.

So ten years it is. Ten years of sweet days. And I am praying for tens and tens more.