Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee...

I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I could ever use the phrase "Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee" to be able to describe where I lived. Alas, here I am! I actually think I did a country line dance to this song in gym class during high school. hm...

My dad and I drove over the past 2 days from Connecticut back down to Georgia where I dropped him off at the Atlanta airport before continuing South. It was really nice to be able to get in some quality time with my dad. We have the same sense of humor so it was pretty easy going back and forth about the fact that he can't focus on the road and always needs to look at airplanes, birds, cows, or whatever else is not actually the road in front of him. The ladies (dogs) were surprisingly well-behaved minus barking at every single toll attendant we passed.

they also don't take photos well.

I made it home about 3:30 and my first order of business was unpacking the Keurig coffee maker my Aunt got me for my bridal shower.

Yaaaayyyy Coffeeeeee!

Then I sat down. It was actually pretty weird being alone again after basically going non-stop for 2 weeks and always having people around. I've gotten pretty good at being one of two ways lately, I have either been a basket case that cries over anything or I have been completely emotionally checked out. I'm a pretty emotional person normally (I blame my Dad and Nanny) so if you add the wedding and Brendan being gone into the mix things get a little more complicated. I just felt that when I was at home that so many people around me were stressed and under pressure that it was a lot easier for me to just not deal with my emotions at that point.

When I sat down, I re-read the letters that Brendan had sent me when I was at my parents, and took some time to reflect on life right now and just let myself feel. My emotions were just so heavy. By the end of this week, most of the friends I have made down here will be gone and moving on to their next Duty Station and I will have heard from Brendan on whether or not he has passed from the mountains phase of Ranger School into the swamp phase. I feel like life is happening so fast and slow at the same time.

A lot of my friends down here have used the term "seasons" to describe periods of time in our lives. I think I'm just starting to get that expression now:

 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

 a time to be born, and a time to die;

 a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

 a time to kill, and a time to heal;

 a time to break down, and a time to build up;

 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

 a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

 a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

 a time to seek, and a time to lose;

 a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

 a time to tear, and a time to sew;

 a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

 a time to love, and a time to hate;

 a time for war, and a time for peace.

(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV)

I think that this season is coming to a close, and reflecting back, I have been broken down and built up, I have cried, laughed, learned and most of all I have sought a relationship with God where in all honesty I didn't have one before. At the end of this season, I will be thankful for the friends I have made and for the love that they gave to me by sharing the Truth. I feel like I am finally standing on solid ground. I will be grateful for Brendan to come home and for us to have a firm foundation to build a wonderful life and a beautiful marriage on, knowing that we can endure all seasons by making our relationship what God designed it to be.

I have been reading a book by John Piper called This Momentary Marriage and in the conclusion he states this:

"But if we set our face to make of marriage mainly what God designed it to be, no sorrows and no calamities can stand in our way. Every one of them will be, not an obstacle to success, but a way to succeed. The beauty of the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his church shines brightest when nothing but Christ can sustain it."

If you had asked me 6 months ago what I thought about this, I would have rolled my eyes and laughed. Now I read this and am filled with hope. My marriage with Brendan should be so filled with love that nothing will break it. How amazing is that? And more amazing than that, how amazing is it that this is just a foreshadowing of the love that God has for us?

I need to start sitting down more often.