Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ecclesiastes

"For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who incresases knowledge
increases sorrow."

Friday, September 2, 2011

It's long...bear with me.

Summer Highlights:
(Almost) My whole family was together in Santa Barbara for my graduation. Minus Anne.
Spent a few days hiking in Big Sur and staying in a yurt.
I watched my brother graduate Medical School.
I worked on a 3-acre farm, learning about the earth, people, and God.
I was given the chance to rekindle friendships and spent 3 unforgettable weeks living with two of the most beautiful individuals I know (Debra Warren and Satpreet Kahlon).
I moved in with my 2nd family (Dan & Karen Ribbens).
I played soccer again for the first time since last September.
I got to spend the month of August in the Midwest.
I got to see my sister for the first time in over a year
I spent a week in the Northwoods with my extended family. My boyfriend got to come as well :) I also got to spend a week with him in my hometown.
I spent a few weeks being a Barkett in Muskegon again.
And I was reunited with MESP soul mates.


Summer Lowlights:
Car was totalled.
Each time I had to say goodbye to a person I love.
(Photo Credits: Satpreet Kahlon, Emiko Corey, and Jordan Clark)

Thursday, September 1, 2011

I miss you already.

Today was quite possibly the most unproductive day since...well, since a long time.
But it was a day that I needed.
I needed time to reflect. Time to digest and process the past week.
And that is exactly what I did.


I just returned from spending almost a week in Minnesota with four of my closest friends from my semester abroad in the Middle East.
And it was soo good.

There was a lot of driving, which meant a lot of great music.. as well as very sore butts.
We hiked, camped out, swam in Lake Superior, feasted on amazing "one pan wonders", reminisced about our semester together in the ME, laughed about things in the moment and things in the past, talked around the campfire into the late hours of the night...

It felt so good to be with these friends of mine. To share things on my heart that only they would understand because only they experienced that formative time with me. They were the ones with me when I began to see the world through a new lens. They were the ones that I dialogued with as I began to ask questions and as my faith structure came crumbling down around me.
They were the ones with me as I fell in love with a people, a country, a region.
They understand my desire, my need, to go. Get up and go.

There is a piece of me that I feel like no one but the people I lived with in Egypt will ever really know.

It felt so right to be together again. But now that we have said our goodbyes, it just feels lonely.


(pictures taken by Jordan Clark)

And The Summer of Love comes to a close.

As I turn the page of the tattered book I see the hallmark roman numerals and big block letters signifying a new chapter.
But I’m not ready for a new chapter, not tonight; I’m still captivated by the beauty of the last one.

So, I close the book, turn off my lamp, and settle into my sheets.

Yes, it’s too soon, I think to myself.


Instead of following the protagonist into the next chapter of her story, I close my eyes and fall asleep dreaming of the beautiful summer of love. _______________________________________