Life is beautiful

Today is my favorite day of the week. I'm serious! Sundays so rock. And today was...interesting. First of all, it rained. It was like normal rain for most of the afternoon, but by the time Reunion let out, it was like the second Flood. But that was fun! I'm the only idiot I know who likes the rain, but man, do I like the rain. I like the sound it makes as it hits the trees and the sidewalks, and I like feeling the cold droplets on my face. And the air just seems so much fresher, so I take deep breaths just cause I can.

Reunion itself was fun. Beforehand was craziness. Now Lou is usually punchy (this is Lou we're talking about. She's always punchy), but Matt Callis was just going nuts today. Mainly harassing the microphone. I blame the Sprite. Those bubbles'll get you, man. We also discussed what flavor of Starburst is better (pink, duh) and if Callis has magic spit. Jim (the drummer) was not here, but this guy named Joel filled in for him on that drum with the weird name and did a very nice job. He's from CIU, and I thought that was rather interesting. I've always wanted to meet someone from there. Ah, yes! And Allison let me borrow her Aaron Keyes Band CD. Love you, Allison! Poddy is quite pleased.

Something weird happened today also. I was wandering the halls as I do between sound check and Reunion, when this lady comes up to me. Apparently she heard me sing during sound check and wanted to give me some words of encouragement, as she is also a singer. I was thankful for that much, because I wasn't on my best game musically today and was losing focus again, so that was a bit of a jolt back to reality. What's weird is she asked me if I knew this song called "On My Knees". I did; in fact, it's one of my favorite songs. Next thing I know, she's talking to Callis. I'm not listening because the sound system was messing up and that had gotten my attention. I asked Callis what she said a bit later, and it turns out that she told him that God had told her that I'm supposed to sing this song at Reunion. OK, 1. If you've ever heard "On My Knees", you know it's not exactly canon Reunion genre, and 2. I'm not even getting into denominational things, but people can get really iffy about people giving them direct directions from God. Callis was nice about it, but when I heard about it, I was really embarrassed. I know what my dad would say (charismatic preacher daddy, not heavenly daddy): not to blow it off but ask God about it myself and see what He says. Of course, this sort of thing is common in my home church, so he may be a little biased, but I think I'll give it a try. I'll do it in a few days, though, because I don't trust my emotions right now. They're very conflicting on the matter.

But Reunion was good. I really liked the songs we sang this week, as I did the week before. My favorite musically was Shivering Door, and my favorite lyrically was All That I Can Say. J.P. spoke today, as Garrett is in Hilton Head. I always like to hear him speak, because he has this wonderfully droll sense of humor. I think the main point was about money, but what really spoke to me was what he had to say about worrying in general. Heaven knows I'm the queen of worrying. I like to say my biggest inner paradox is that I don't expect perfection from anyone but myself, so I find myself nitpicking at stuff in my life and have to make myself stop. He quoted a Bible passage I've heard a million times, but it's like I'm always hearing it for the first time. It's Matthew 6:25-34, which is obviously too long for me to post here, but you should definitely read it over for yourself. My favorite verse from that passage is the very last one (34): "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."

Amen to that, brother. Amen to that. I'm always wanting more or pushing myself farther, and that puts such a strain on you after a while. When I do sit down and remind myself that I have pretty much everything I need and a lot of the things I want (like Poddy), I find that it's easy to be content. I'd rather be thankful for what I do have than restless for the things I don't.

As I was walking back to my dorm, feeling the rain drip on my face and taking deep breaths, I thought about how much fun I'd had today and how rewarding it was to have been able to worship my God and learn more about Him with people I really care about. And all I could think was, "Life is beautiful."