New Beginnings- As The Crow Flies

Hello Friends,
 I know, I know, I changed the name of my blog and I promise that this will not be like the constant profile picture change that some of you who have stuck around longer had to endure back in my high school days. But that kept things interesting, right? ;)
             Anyways, I realized after getting used to this whole blogging thing that I wanted a blog name that was a little more visual friendly than the long quote that I had. I find it funny to think back on the time when I first heard the phrase, “As the crow flies” and that some of you reading this won’t even know what that means, don’t worry I didn’t either at one point.  I was at my grandparents house in Temecula and my grandma was telling me how to get somewhere, *disclaimer* my grandma is the queen of using idioms that were often used back in the day such as, “Run like sixty.”, “Cat got your tongue”, and she is known for being able to quote old wives tales as though she helped create them.  Getting back to my story, my grandma mentioned how long it took to get somewhere “as the crow flies”, which instantly had me interested and would not have been helpful when traveling by car. The phrase, “as the crow flies” is the amount of time it takes to get somewhere without any obstacles in the way. According to the online dictionary this phrase is listed as, “the distance between two places is measured as a straight line.”
            Now, I think just about anyone can agree that there are very few places we can go in life where the road is a straight line with no traffic, no distractions, no accidents, or anything unplanned that comes up along the way. I will be the first one to say that I have very little tolerance for traffic, accidents, and distractions in general and I tend to see them as a waste of time, just a couple weeks ago it took me an extra 45 minutes to get to work and I found myself thinking, “Ugh, with that extra time I could have slept in, stopped by Starbucks, taken more time getting ready, gotten to work earlier;” the possibilities were endless. But the voice of the Lord stopped me mid- thought and said, “I want you to pray, pray for these people, intercede on their behalf, pray for the accidents.” And that definitely got my attention, as the Lord always does when I find myself getting too wrapped up in my plans, my schedule, my day, my everything for that matter. The Word of the Lord rings true in Proverbs 16:9 which says “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” So I found myself praying for these people that I did not know and that accidents that I would soon see the scattered remains of, I prayed that they would experience little to no pain, and the comfort of the Lord and that He would spare them. As I got about 30 minutes into the painfully slow traffic and confused drivers trying to figure out how to turn three lanes into one I saw three cars totaled on the side of the road and one partially detached at the roof of the car, signifying the use of the jaws of life and at this moment I knew that God was using my prayers, and probably those of many more of his children on the road that day who were inconvenienced by the traffic, and late commutes to work.
            When thinking of this traffic situation I thought of other times in my life where I felt so inconvenienced before realizing that I was being used by God, or times where I overlooked an opportunity because it wasn’t convenient for me or because I thought I had something “more important” to do. Linda Hoffman shared a dream that she had at a women’s leadership/discipleship group that I attend and the dream was that she was heading to a wedding and knew that she had to stop at a jeweler to get some fine jewels for the bride and groom on the way to the wedding so, she made sure to set out early to have time to get the jewels and get to the wedding a little early. As she found herself making her way to the ceremony from the jeweler’s shop she ran into a confused looking wedding guest who could not find the jeweler’s shop so Linda took the time to walk them over to the location, then as she started making her way back to the ceremony she found herself continuously being stopped by other guests asking her for directions and assistance. Naturally she started getting annoyed with all of these unprepared people and told herself that she would just walk right by the next person who needed direction and she found God telling her that these people that she would have just passed up are His precious jewels, and that by serving them she was directly serving Him. This story reached my very core and I asked myself, “How often do I look past certain people, or disregard those that the Lord has put before me to fulfill my own prerogative?” Just a couple weeks ago someone had come up to say “Hello” to me at our college group and I practically ran her over on my way to greet someone else, barely even seeing her in front of me, literally. I found myself realizing specifically that all these people are important to Jesus as thought they were His only child, even if they come up to the pulpit every Sunday with the same prayer request, or sing off- key during worship, or don’t take the extra time to do what is required of them, or are a little behind the learning curve. Then I went even further to realize that if I want to strive to live and act like Jesus, then I need to love these people, and at times be willing to drop everything for them as He would abandon 99 sheep to reach out and save one who had strayed from the heard. Instead of seeing these people as “distractions” or “obstacles” to deal with I am learning to see my interactions with them as divine appointments or the end point that Jesus was trying to bring me to, and so far it has been incredible to see where Jesus wants to lead me. So friends, I pray over all of you reading this that Jesus will reveal the areas, or people in your life that are opportunities waiting to happen, someone that you can truly represent the hands and feet of Jesus towards, and please share your findings to bless and encourage others! Until next time loved ones.
<3 Sarah

A Comforting Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

        As I sit here on my couch drinking my Cinnamon Apple tea I can't help but notice the aches in my back and shoulders from kneeling on the ground, digging through boxes that have remained at my Grandma Natalie's condo for the last five years. All the while finding many items, or as I like to think, treasures that I swore I would never see again. Treasures from the days of old that still seem to hold attachment, memories, times almost in another life. While digging there were a few different categories that I considered the different objects to be a part of those that were important and that I couldn't bare to part with, those that easily made their way to the trash, and those items that I had to ask myself a few times whether or not I would ever really use them or even consider them once I put them back into storage. In fact, while rummaging through some different boxes out in the garage my grandma decided to stay out there organizing and keeping em company and when explaining her method of getting rid of things said, "If I've gone without it or forgot about it for the last twenty- years, then why would I stick it in storage again only to find it twenty- years later?"

      As I continued going through the many boxes and bags it occurred to me that I was continually finding items that I had specifically thought of recently such as, my Yearbook from my senior year in high school, a banana nut candle; that has never been burned because I thought that if I burned it before that the scent would go away forever, and a book called,  "Always Sisters" to name a few. Now for some of you who have incredible memories, you're thinking, "Yes, so what of it?" And that is just it, I do not have an incredible memory and I haven't for years. I can barely remember birthdays, movie plots, and even names at times (unless I know you personally of course). So therefore, it is a wonder that I am able to remember specific objects, although these objects held onto dear memories for me. My senior year yearbook has a message written to me from my high school psychology teacher, Mr. McCarthy, who happened to be one of my favorite teachers because of the way that he encouraged me and was always cheering me up regardless of some of the stupid corners that I had backed myself into, he is part of the reason that I majored in psychology (aside from my desire to listen to and serve people) and when I went back to visit him a couple years after I graduated to tell him so he said, "Oh man, you must really be nuts, but good luck kid." At the end of his yearbook message he wrote "Live long and prosper". The banana- but candle probably helped spark an somewhat abnormal love that I have for candles, and scents in general, I know that as people we are generally drawn to something that peaks one of our senses and to many people smell can help take them back to memories and they can relate with those scents. Finally my "Always Sisters" book, it's interesting that I still remember bits and pieces of the stories that my mom would read to my sister Emily and I when we were younger and I can't remember the specific sisters but I remember one story where the sisters were so close and then one got very sick and she ended up passing away, that story made me cry when I was younger as I tried to comprehend the pain that the sister felt over losing her best friend and now as I write this my perspective is completely different. Yes, I lost my sister to cancer when she was 10 1/2 years old, and yes it was a very painful experience, I have no desire to mask those truths. However, over the years God has shown me the way to let go of her, trusting that she is now in His hands and with Him and that our parting is only temporary. The process of healing and learning God's truths is still happening and has been such a breath of fresh air and a comfort.

       Finally after three hours of rummaging, discarding, and pondering different areas of my past I found myself driving, trunk full, down the road that lead me to where I am today (literally). For many years I lived, worked, and went to school in El Cajon. When leaving my grandmas I took the road Madison, which lead me past my old high school, my first college, the road that leads up to Crest (where I grew up, in the house that my parents still live in). As I drove past Granite Hills High School I found myself asking, "God, where has my life gone?"  Here I am driving past the place I couldn't wait to get out of when I was in it, and now I'm really wondering why I was in such a hurry? Don't get me wrong, I have been living such a blessed life and I definitely would not trade it for high school again. My point is that so often we find ourselves in a place that we cannot wait to get out of, but when we look back we start to see the good and the fond memories, even if they are few. We start to realize that it really wasn't that bad, it just seemed like it in the moment.

      It may sounds silly using the cliche "Time moves faster the older you get." or feeling so far ahead in my years considering that I am only 22 however, God had an answer for me and he brought up the verse James 4:14, which says, "¹⁴ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." Ah yes, I am a vapor, my life on earth is not meant to last forever and eventually my time here will come to an end, am I really doing everything that I should be with it?

    Amazing that so often we get caught up int he moment, troubled over the smallest things when our life is but a vapor, disappearing at any time, and yet so many of us live as though we have all of the time in the world. We pass up golden opportunities, we put off a command from God, we get lazy and apathetic thinking that our open doors will remain open, and we miss out on all of the adventure and blessings that have been placed before us! My friends, do not miss out on what is waiting for you!  "An opportunity has an expiration date" as our Pastor Mark Hoffman says. So what will you choose to do? Will you take hold of the opportunities given to you? Are you currently doing so, then press on friend! Persistence is key, as Paul said in Philippians 3:14 "¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Sorry for the tangent, this matter has been a subject of importance to me and I myself feel the need to step it up and to take full advantage of the time that God has given me on this earth. Anyways, good night to all and be blessed my friends and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and input.