i think she really means it…

Friendships

Monday, March 24th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

I’ve had a lot of neat friendships in my life. I had good friends throughout elementary school and a special group of 5 girlfriends in high school. When I got to college, however, God blessed me with a small group of women who taught me what it truly means to be “friends.”

Jen, Sandra, and I hung out constantly. We met together once a week to have veggie burgers at Take 5. Jen and I ran our first marathon together. Sandra and I were roommates in Bowles. We studied together, prayed together, we even spent the night in each other’s rooms. We found that simply being in one another’s presence was refreshing. We didn’t have to talk or have deep conversations (although, we certainly had many of those), we simply enjoyed one another’s company. We sent each other encouraging notes through the inter-campus mail, met together on Friday afternoons for “hot tea” parties. Those were some precious times. They are amazing women.

I don’t know if it was the community life of college or the time and place in life that we were in together, but I’ve had a hard time finding friendship like that since. For a while, Taryn and I had a special bond (while they were living in West LA, and Steve was attending USC). But it sure didn’t last long enough.

Living in LA certainly has it perks. Nate and I feel like we’re living a dream…we live so close to the city and the beach…who could ask for anything better! Yet, one of the downfalls to city life is the lack of lasting relationships. This is such a transient area. People come and go frequently. Lots of people come to the city to go to school or start a career, but when they reach the point in life we’re reaching (that is, having a family), they’re ready to move on. It’s nearly impossible to raise a family on one income and live in anything bigger than a one bedroom apartment in our neighborhood. Especially if you have the type of career that serves the community (on staff at a church, school, or social service center). Therefore, most of our friends have moved away. Dan and Sandra are in Germany, Jen and her soon-to-be-husband are in Philadelphia, Steve and Taryn go to school in Loma Linda, Tim and Kelley work for CSM in Chicago. We’ve known so many amazing couples and have been blessed with their friendships.

I guess I just have a longing in my heart for a good girlfriend again. Someone who is close-by and in a similar life situation. Someone who is also on a journey with God, longing to live the life He’s called her to. Someone who I can call up and bring with me when I need to take a quick trip to Trader Joe’s. Someone who I can cook dinner for, or who can cook dinner for me when we’ve had a long, awful day. Someone who understands some of my same struggles. Someone who I can encourage and who can encourage me.

My heart is lonely. I have known good friends, and am a better woman for the experiences. I pray that in the months to come God will bring a special friend across my path, and that we can experience a new and growing relationship as we revel in God’s blessings in the city of Los Angeles.

10 Miles of Bliss!

Monday, March 17th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

As mentioned in a previous post, I had a very difficult long run last weekend. This past Saturday’s run certainly redeemed running for me!

Because we had a very busy day planned, Nate and I got up and started running at 5:00 am. It was still dark and there were very few people out that early on a Saturday morning. However, the air was crisp and clean. Both of us turned our ipods up loud and ran. We ran tirelessly for 4 miles, “gu-ed” up at home, then went out for another 6. It was incredible to see the sun come up over the buildings of Century City. It was an amazing run. We got back and felt great! What a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and the city of Los Angeles. We *love* our home!

A New Haircut

Monday, March 17th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher | 2 Comments

I got a haircut this past Friday. It’s shorter than I had planned, but I really like it. Of course, the first thing I heard this morning from the students was, “Mrs. Jones, you cut your hair!” I explained to them that I didn’t actually cut my hair, but had someone else do it for me. Several of them told me they liked the cut except for one girl in first period. She tactfully informed me that it looked better long. Oh well, you can’t please them all…

10 Miles Ain’t What It Used To Be!

Saturday, March 8th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | No Comments

Nate and I started training for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in January. Nate set a personal goal for himself this year to run 500 hundred miles. I, however, am teaching my students a “life lesson” about setting goals and working daily toward them. They each set semester-long goals for themselves and journal about their progress each week. I am modeling such goal setting by running the marathon in June. So, we each have different reasons why we’re running, but the outcome is the same… besides, it is kinda fun running together four times a week.

Our mileage is slowly increasing. Today, we ran 10 miles. We like to get up early Saturday morning to do the runs for 2 reasons: 1) the air is cool and crisp at about 6 or 7 in the morning, and 2) we get it out of the way for the weekend. Well, this morning’s run was awful! You’d think after training for four and a half marathons, I’d be used to this by now! Not so. Today was especially difficult. My legs were heavy and my knee is bruised (from an ever so graceful tumble on Wednesday). It is usually so refreshing to listen to worship music on my ipod while running through the beautiful neighborhoods of Cheviot Hills and Beverlywood, but today I had a very difficult time finding a pace. It finally came to me at about mile 8.5, but quickly left at 9.5.

Some days are like this, though. I’m just grateful for a Father in Heaven whose love is consistent and grace is new every morning. It doesn’t matter how “late” He stayed up last night, or how many people He helped yesterday… He always has enough love, compassion, and mercy to renew me. Even when I disappoint myself (and can’t do a measly 10 miles on a Saturday morning), God’s perfect grace covers me and holds me close. He reminds me once again that it’s not my accomplishments that earn His love, but simply because I am His.

The Heart of Teaching

Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher | No Comments

For some reason, there’s a small group of students who hang out in my classroom after school 2-3 days a week. Of course, many of them are required to see me for extra help on their homework (per their parents’ instruction), but I find that even after they’re done with the work, they like to stick around and be silly. Despite the fact I’ve been working with students all day (including lunch), it’s hard for me to kick them out. After all, this is a safe place for them to be where they can stay out of trouble and they seem to enjoy themselves. My logical side can’t wait for them to leave so that I can really get some work done. My “heart,” however, often causes me to join in with their goofiness. They help me remember my true calling.