beauty, joy, & reunions.

It's been a quiet couple of days here at Bethesda, and let's be honest, quiet is a word I never thought I would use to describe our apartment. I've been home alone since yesterday, and I've used the past day and a half to read, read, read, nap, read, watch a few documentaries, and really spend time in solitude, absolutely quiet. It's been both refreshing and restful, giving me time and space to think and pray.

I am, however, ready to break the quiet. In just a few hours, some of the greatest people I know are coming to spend a few days in Chicago!! Some friends from summer staff will be staying in the city for a few days, and I am beyond excited to be reunited with a taste of the craziness and community that we built together last July. As I was browsing through pictures and my journal from that month, I kept being reminded of life to the full. Our month together at Castaway was truly a small picture of life to the full - a life full of craziness and dance parties and jumping and laughing and playing and hard work and and raw conversations and building up and breaking down and tears and silliness and exhaustion and dependence and realness and a thousand other things.

As I sit here, three days into the new year and exploring what it means to live a deeper story, I can't think of a more perfect time to be reunited with some of the people who walked alongside me through a month of life to the full. These are people, I am convinced, who have seen me very vulnerable and very real, and chose to walk alongside me anyway. The girls coming to stay at Bethesda (along with many of the girls who were on our summer staff but aren't able to come this weekend) are authentic, beautiful, kind, loving, and full of joy. I read this article earlier today, and was reminded how each of these girls possess a real joy and unique beauty.

Plus, quality time with this girl is always welcomed. 

"For so long I've tried to be beautiful through my appearance, but each day I'm seeing more and more how wrong I am about it all. Beauty isn't about what we wear or how we look, but rather about who we are and who we're becoming. Joy is one of those characteristics - one of the intangible, non-physical qualities, that make us beautiful, regardless of shape or size."