The One True Love

This was a great post.  Valentine's Day isn't a fun day for many people, single or married, because it sheds light on our unfulfilled hopes.

 

 The other day I was sorting through some old papers and writings and came across my journal from way back when.  My age?  Sixteen!  It was so interesting to take a trip down memory lane and to see that I am very much the same person that I was back then.  I was surprised at how little had actually changed, including my desire to process things through writing, my handwriting, and even my writing style.  Reading over my New's Years Resolutions was striking...most of my goals back then are still my goals for growth even now!  I guess that means I haven't made much progress, or will always wrestle with the same weaknesses! 

 

 

In some ways I was inspired by my past self. 

Teen Lindsey was less jaded than Thirty-Something Lindsey.

Teen Lindsey seemed to have more faith, more energy, more zeal for helping others than I do now as a tired mommy of many young children.

And yet...it's nice to now have several of the answers to Teen Lindsey's questions about life, love, and the future.  In spite of my strong faith and confidence in the Lord, I struggled a lot with self-esteem and loneliness in following God.  I definitely lacked the confidence and perspective that comes with experience and age. 

 

I wish I could reach back in time and give Teen Lindsey a little shake and say, "Do you have any idea how precious you are and how irrelevant other highschoolers opinions are, and how much these hard choices now will bless your future life and marriage?  Stay strong!" 

 

 

Reading through my old journals, I saw longing, for love and acceptance...but in that ache for something more...I also found fulfillment in Christ.

There is longing in singleness and there is longing in marriage.

Being single is hard and being in a relationship is hard.

Our hearts are only truly fulfilled in the Lord.

We were made for more than romantic love. 

Romantic love is just a signpost, pointing us to the One True Love that lasts throughout all of life and througout all of eternity.

Today, I'm letting the "consumed" girl of my yesterdays remind me where real love is found!

Snowshoe Trek in the Mountains

 

My brother Grant hooked me up to some of his snowshoes and we took a little hike with our mom in the mountains a few weeks ago.  It's a lot more work than cross-country skiing!

Life

Playing Princess, complete with a little crown her sister made her out of pipe cleaners.

 

 

This last week I've discovered that:

 

I'm thankful Justus isn't a twin.

 

Having 4 kids is much easier than having 6.

 

Three little boys can make a LOT more noise and break a lot more toys than 2 can.

 

It is possible to cover our entire, enormous living room/schoolroom with paper scraps from little boys cutting paper. 

 

We have enough legos to blanket the boys' whole bedroom carpet.

 

No matter how compliant or quiet a kid is, they still take emotional energy, meaning that people who say, "Having 3 kids is the same as having 2" or "Once you have 2 or 3, you can have a few more and never even notice!" are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

 

If I don't menu plan religiously and do some bulk cooking once a week, I cannot survive my kids' relentless appetites.

 

I don't like meat (of any kind) enough to do a high-protein, low-carb diet and eat meat 5 times a day.

I like chocolate waaaaay too much to cut it out of my diet.

 

It's worth spending the money to go to the chiropracter if you are miserable.

 

Laughing so hard you can't stand up with friends is my favorite way to burn calories.

 

No matter how much laundry I do, one of the kids will always complain about something clothing-related, like their socks feel too big, or too small, they can't find clean underwear, or they don't like any of the clean shirts in their bin.

 

 

 

Toy Art

Big sister decided to draw her little sister's stuffed animals the other day and I thought it was really cute.