Living In The Storm: The Power of People

i believe in the importance of people.

i believe that people are the ONLY thing that lasts forever.

i believe in investing in people; near or far, convenient or inconvenient, zygote or full term, easy or hard, painful or joyful, energy sucking or energy giving, short term or long term. i believe in the importance of investing in people.

we were never called to walk this life alone. isolation and independence can be dangerous and extremely lonely.

we need each other. and we need A LOT of different EACH OTHERs!

my mom invested well in people. the other night i spent the evening cleaning out a cabinet at their house. i can not exaggerate the number of blank cards mom had filed away. probably most of them intended to give to you! :) every occasion was covered. however, the "i am thinking of you", "i am so sorry you are walking through this", "i hope to encourage you" cards, WAY out numbered all the rest. this surprises no one. our Mama invested in people. but just not happy, fun, exciting people... but hurting, burdened, and broken people. there is no telling how many mornings i walked down stairs to breakfast to find  mom in her multi colored robe (purchased by dad) all wrapped up in the long, white, telephone cord... she was on the phone encouraging someone, sympathizing with someone, empathizing with someone, offering help, counsel, and prayer for any and all who needed it.  *ugh, i just miss that with every fiber in my being!*

i was kind of down and out last night because we have been in this house 7 weeks now and we are not even near being unpacked. not a single picture is hung, not a single decoration is placed in the kids rooms, etc,etc.... but then i stopped my pouting and realized that most of our "free time" has included people centered events. yes, we could have skipped those events and stayed at home and cleaned and unpacked, (and there is nothing wrong with cleaning and unpacking) but some how with everything we are walking through right now it seems temporary and unimportant. this house is not coming with us. it shall remain here on earth in all of its coziness. but those sweet, adorable, baby bellies i rubbed this weekend, those fun art projects crafted at kaleidoscope, those amazing friends who came over and shared dessert with us even in an imperfect house, those very busy monkeys who swam for 5 hours in the pool, while the onlookers chatted, hugged, and ate deliciousness... and that moment of holding her hand and kissing her cheek over and over again because i could... those moments are forever kind of moments. moments when the power of people in our lives is undeniable.

so here are to moments filled with people. not the pressures of home decor, or home cleanliness, or the exaltation of the temporary. rather, those moments grounded in the power of people!

happy holiday hangover day!
~s