Swim

"Baby, no one knows you better than me

no one's been a better friend"

It's been cloudy every day for about a week. The forecast for the rest of the week? the exact same. It's easy to adapt to the lack of sunshine, but it's necessary to remember why we love the light so much. This morning was especially cloudy, but the longer I drove the clearer it got. By the time I reached the water, It was a clear blue and pink sky. The water was still with boats at the dock and even a few were out sitting quietly above the green. The ducks were calling and the geese were laughing. I walked from my car to the edge of the water and breathed deeply. 

College is the exact opposite as the weather this morning. Things seem hopeful in the morning: bright skies ahead. But the longer I'm in class, the more I talk to other exhausted college students, the more tired I get: the cloudier the skies start to seem.

I think we spend so much time complaining about the clouds that we forget to love the sun even when it comes. We stand under a blue sky and say "well, the cloudy days will be here again soon. Just you wait" but that seems silly though. Doesn't it? To wait in the sun for the clouds? 

I wonder what it would look like for us to enjoy the sun while it's here and embrace the clouds when we have to. I wonder what it would look like for a generation to say we are done complaining about cloudy days and we choose JOY instead.  Obviously I'm no expert at this either but we could all give it our best go, couldn't we? After all, that's all God asks of us. That our hearts are in the right place and we do what we can. So why don't we encourage each other to choose joy? I think maybe it's about time we start. 

I've also been thinking about the edge a lot. What it looks like. How we got there. What it takes to go beyond it. What keeps us standing there looking out past it. Like living for cloudy days, I think we too often spend our time at the edge of the water. But what's the fun in that? Wouldn't it be more fun to jump into the freezing water and SWIM. Or maybe we'd be like Jesus and Peter and WALK. Either way, it's going to take us going beyond the edge to ever get where we need to go.

Nobody knows us better than the one who created us. He is cheering us on when we are at the edge saying "COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT! Give your heart to me! Come home! Believe in me! I'm right here! Come on! You can do it" 

Friend. We must go beyond the edge. We must choose to put our faith in the one who is faithful. We must choose joy no matter what color the sky is. We must encourage one another to run after God while he calls to us. 

Come on. You can do it! You're almost home! Come on! 

Em