The original plan… Beautiful day. Done with class early. Perfect. I’ll study for a few hours, and get caught-up on some class work, maybe even jump ahead. I’ll stop studying around 3:00, it is supposed to be 68 degrees (in January!) and I’ll go for an hour long run. I had downloaded Andy Stanley’s sermon about “Taking Responsibility” to my Ipod. I’ll get back around 4:15, start some laundry, take a shower, run by Express to get a new business outfit for my interview that I am super pumped about (happening tomorrow), and then meet Rachel at dinner for her birthday.
12:30. I start studying. Two pages into where I had left off in “The Law of Public Communication” my phone rings, it’s the secretary for Grady College, apparently the department head of my major wants to have an appointment with me… Interesting… I had just passed her on my way out of class earlier. The secretary is always extremely friendly, but not much help to me when she said, “Dr. Holifield did not say why.” Ok, no big deal. Fifteen minutes back into studying, my mind is seesawing back-and-fourth between why I need to see Dr. Holifield, and my interview.
Concentrate. Hmnnn… Almost 1:00, against my better judgment, I decide it’s time to catch-up on “Days of Our Lives.” Okay, no longer my fault I’m not studying, yep, it’s my mother’s. If Mom had read me nursery rhymes at naptime, instead of watching “Days,” I’d be cruising through that law book. Lots has changed, Stefano is still evil.
Finally run time. Warm-up song, I’ll start out with the Shakira song “Did It Again.” Apparently, I’m not the only one that makes mistakes. Then I will listen to my podcast. Correction, I will not be listening to my podcast. I did not save it properly to my Ipod. That’s okay. This wasn’t my first rodeo. Plenty of “Road to Recovery” mixes, not my first time “recovering” so to say, just my last. J
As the lyrics of songs by Casting Crowns and Todd Agnew dance in my head, I am taken back by nature once again. On a normal day, I would say nature is my element, but I am not in my element today, I am in His. The lake looked as peaceful as usual, the trees as overbearing as normal, and the roots were still prepared to make me face-plant at any moment. Yes, sadly this has occurred on multiple occasions. But today feels different. My heart is beating fast, but my mind is at ease. I am breathing hard, but I am not exhausted. Lifehouse begins playing in my ears…
“You calm the storms, and give me rest. You hold me in Your hands, You won’t let me fall. You steal my heart, and you take my breath away. Would you take me in, take me deeper now… How can I stand here with You and not be moved by You.”
How have I let myself become so distant? I look around, there is nobody insight. But today feels different. I realize I am not alone. I am in a way, “moved,” I am at the hands of His mercy. I feel so small.
Still running… I slow down for a little girl and her mother. They are using the stack of tree limbs that someone strategically placed in the pathway to avoid a muddy area. It is not an easy task though. Luckily, I had already successfully crossed this obstacle twice today. I smiled as I watched the little girl tip-toeing on the branches, her mom was following behind her closely, her mom was barely grazing her shoulders with her hands. Finally almost clear of the mud, the little girl jumped to the nearest dry spot. I told her what a great job she did getting across the branches. She laughed and gazed up at me like little kids do when they see something so beautiful… Ha, JK, be humble Anna, be humble. But anyways, she looked at me with wide eyes and said, “That was hard!” Her excitement made her mom and I both laugh. We both continued are ways.
As I watched her cross the milestone in her trail, I thought about my milestones. My situations are far different from crossing muddy water, but in a way they are just the same. I am also being challenged from getting to where I want to be. Something always seems to be slowing me down. I too want to shout, “This is hard!” But like the little girl’s mother, I too have someone looking down on me. I too have someone keeping there arms close by, just in case I happen to slip and fall. I too am just a small girl trying to find a way to the other side.