You are Here

Thanks Ti.Mo!

I've always been somewhat fascinated by those mall maps that state "You are Here" in big letters with a star beside them or an arrow clearly pointing out your existence. Not over there, not that way, just here. Plain and simple. I like that feeling I get when I stand there looking at those information boards, because in that moment I have a sense of the bigger picture. Within the context of the mall, the chaotic comings and goings of busy shoppers, I know exactly where I am and why. For as long as I'm still staring at that map  I have all the facts I could ever need.

Life isn't like that.

In life, I don't have that map. I wander around wishing I did. But let's face it, I don't always know where I'm going. I don't have the big picture I wish I had or the understanding of the context in the way I want. Instead, I find myself overwhelmed by the things I don't know. How my story fits into the lives of others. Where I am in the chaotic comings and goings of a world I don't comprehend. My decisions, talents, words, and actions are one big mess of lines -unfamiliar roads in a past, present, and future of which I am mostly unaware. 

I can't always see where I'm going... I can't see where I'm going now. 

But just because I don't have that map, doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't have the satisfaction of reading those letters that spell out three very comforting words -"You are Here." But I have something better: the mapmaker lovingly whispering what I need to know into my ear. 

  

If I Had it My Way...

~ Summer would be longer than the other seasons and winter would, of course, be the shortest

~ Books would always be free

~ Walking would be the required mode of transportation

~ Everyone would watch Chuck on TV

~ There would be no commercials on radio stations (so I wouldn't have to constantly flip between channels)

~ Oxford would be closer to home and I would have a tunnel to the Bodleian Library in my basement

~ Reese's Peanut Butter Cups wouldn't be bad for you

~ Exercising would always be fun and I would be able to swim, ski, skate, and surf whenever I wanted

~ Traveling would be like in the movies, where two minutes on the airplane would be enough to get you safely to your destination

~ I'd never forget my childhood

~ People would never have jobs that were purposeless, unless they loved them

~ There would be a Jamba Juice two minutes from me at all times

~ Schooling wouldn't cost so much

~ Learning a different language wouldn't be difficult and Google Translate would be more accurate

~ Coffee would taste better or no one would drink it

~ People would talk more face to face and less through technology

~ I would hear at least one funny quote from a child every day

~ People would wake up to a crowd standing in the room encouraging them, clapping for them and singing sunshiny songs to them every morning

~ Night would not come so quickly and you wouldn't be tired if you went to bed late

~ People would actually follow their dreams instead of just talk about following them

~ You would give gifts on your birthday and get them on everyone else's (like in the Shire)

~ Your tongue would turn the color of the food you were eating all the time, not only when you ate candy

~ Asking good questions would be less of a rare occurrence and really listening to the answers would be automatic

~ I would have gotten the musical gene so that I could actually play guitar by now

~ Going to laughing clubs would be a weekly requirement of life

~ People would think outside the box more or maybe the box would just be bigger

~ And I'd always have ideas for what to write on my blog

Travel Tip #961 - Giants

"my problem

my giant

just won't keep quiet

she's first thing every morning

to the last thing I hear every night

but she can't be completely indestructible

I only wish I could see how to defeat 

my giant" 

- Stephanie Smith 

There's a song I really like called "My Giant" (I would post a link of the song here, but it is no where to be found on youtube) which I discovered by watching one of my favorite movies in the world, Pride and Prejudice: A Latter Day Comedy (that's right, it's the modern mormon version that no one has heard of!) Totally worth it, trust me! Anyways, the song's chorus posted above always makes me stop and think about all the different giants we meet on the road to just about anywhere.

They show up and they are BIG!

I posted about storms last time, which may seem kind of the same as giants. But the hard thing about giants, unlike storms, are that they move, they think, and they purposefully choose to be against us. Giants stand up and shout, "Fe Fi Fo Fum" or "Who will dare to fight me?"  They are proud, terrifying beasts that we allow to manipulate us, lie to us, and flat out scare us. Giants are the bullies of the journey -the crazy bosses, the abusive parents, the backstabbing friends, and the selfish spouses. They are the relationship problems that come with being human. They aren't the mountains we climb or the blizzards we get through, instead they are the enemies we have to deal with or the unhealthy fears and habits we must destroy. 

And giants seem indestructible. That's why they are giants and we are not. Because we, being the short little guys, tend to feel intimidated. There's no easy way to fight a giant in life. Basically, you just have to put your armor on, have friends to encourage you along the way, and have the faith that no giant is completely indestructible.

They may not all fall the way Goliath did, but all giants can be defeated with the right stone.

My Word -Fiducia

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, 

for I have put my trust in you. 

Show me the way I should go,

for to you I entrust my life. 

- Psalm 143:8

Maybe you’re a woman in search of her word. - Eat, Pray, Love

In the movie Eat, Pray, Love the Italians play a game with Liz (aka Julia Roberts) where they name a city and say a word that goes with it. This quickly transitions into talk about people’s words -the idea that everyone has a word in life, one that envelops their essence, meaning, or purpose. After saying her word is “writer,” the friends argue around the dinner table that writing is merely something Liz does, not who she is. Thus, it is declared that Liz is in search of her word. And it is not until much later in the movie, that she realizes what this word might be.

For those of you who are now curious, Liz says her word is “attraversiamo” which is Italian for “Let’s cross over.” Hearing this, got me wondering about what my word might be. Though I don’t know much about the Italian language, I do know it sounds cooler than English, so I did some research and came up with this: “fiducia.” It’s an Italian word for trust, dependence, or reliance, having the same root word as the verb “to owe”, because I want my word in life to mean “I put my trust in you.”

I don’t know why, but I’ve always struggled with trusting. I’ve been given so many amazing people in my life to encourage me to trust, that it hardly makes sense that I would have trouble. But I do. If I’m completely honest, I’m always afraid that people will somehow betray me -that they’ll leave. And that translates into fear of an even greater proportion -that one day God will leave me. That one day His love will no longer be everlasting, His forgiveness will no longer be free, and His plan for my life will no longer be one of hope and a future.

Yet God has been faithful when I have not.

Through many opportunities in life to trust, trust, and trust some more I’ve learned how to put my trust in the right things, the right people, and specifically, the One being who will never betray me. And I’ve learned that this act of depending on something outside one’s self; of owing someone; of confessing, completely surrendering, and believing wholeheartedly is more than worth it.

It’s so worth it, that even just the word trust is important enough to base my life around.

Fiducia is my word. What’s yours?