Flying over the Clouds

I have this thing for clouds. I love them. Its not obsessive or anything like that. I just love to lay on my back and look at the them. I think they are so beautiful. I especially love the clouds you get to see when I fly. I love breaking through the cloud cover on take off and looking out over the clouds like its a big fluffy blanket, or an ocean of whipped cream drenched in golden sunlight. There are few things more beautiful than that to me. While I was looking out over thoe clouds yesterday while flying from Toronto to Atlanta, it occurred to me that I wouldn't have gotten to see such beauty if we hadn't just gone through some turbulence on the flight. And I admit, regardless of the million flights I've made between Toronto and Atlanta, the turbulence always makes my heart pound. I get a little nervous when the plane shakes. And when I realized that I had to go through those nervous moments to see one of my favorite sights, it was like the voice of God whispering to me, reminding me that life is the same; To experience true beauty in life, we sometimes have to go through some turbulence. And that turbulence in life can be scary, but the view on the other side makes the scary worth it...

"Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; 

       O LORD, be my help.

You turned my wailing into dancing; 

       you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. 

       O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever." 

~Psalm 30:10-12

"I will extol the LORD at all times; 

       his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD; 

       let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me; 

       let us exalt his name together.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; 

       he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant; 

       their faces are never covered with shame."

~Psalm 34:1-5

 

Talk on the phone or park your car. But don't do both

I drive a little car, so maybe I just don't understand. Parking my car takes about 5 seconds and no skill at all, so maybe my opinion comes from too narrow a focus. But, after watching someone struggle to park her gigantic SUV next to my little car, I decided that auto dealerships or the DMV ought to create a parking test for people who want to drive an SUV. If you can't park it, you can't drive it. If you can only get it into the spot kinda straight, then you can't drive it. I realized after I had created this lovely parking test in my head, that my little friend trying to park her unnecessarily large truck, was actually just talking on the phone and trying to park with one hand... Of COURSE you can't park a huge car straight with one hand! What was I thinking?

I Love My Neighborhood

Yesterday I drove out of the Highlands to go to Midtown. It's only a couple of miles, 10  minutes or so across town, 20 in bad traffic. Its closer than driving to work by a long shot. But, it just wasn't "home." I went to Midtown to find a dress for a my little brother's wedding, and although I found something, I really didn't like being in that part of town! The taffic was aweful, the roads were closed all over the place, and to make it worse, it was pouring rain. I went to a grocery store in Midtown instead of waiting until I got back to the Highlands, and I hated trying to find what I needed there! Its probably a little insane I think, but I immediately felt better when I turned off of Monroe Drive onto Virginia Ave and was back in "my neighborhood." I am inclined to say that there isn't anything special about my neighborhood, but that is a lie! Its a like a little town inside the city. Regular folks live here. I can walk to the grocery store or, like I did today, down to the village and buy my mom a mother's day gift. I can cross streets in the middle of the street because its all residential area and few people are zipping along these streets- except of course the one my building is on. There really is nothing I HAVE to leave this area for, except to go to work and church. I hope I can stay in this neighborhood a long time, or at least, one day find another that I love as much as this one. I know I am totally corny..! So now I feel like all the people in my building should all come out on the front lawn now and we can sing, holding hands in a circle, "these are the people in my neighborhood, in my neighborhood, in my neighborhood, yes these are the people in my neighborhood..."