To be girls

What a wonderful weekend--what a wonderful week.
My days here have been filled with business but not stress. I think God has really taught me what I am living for. It's beautiful when I don't get caught up in 'pains' and worries. Just living. (disclaimer: I reserve the right to use fragments and any type of sentences throughout my blogs--my 'creative writing' pursuit allows me to break all rules).

On Friday, Yifan and Leong came over to discover downtown Mt. Pleasant with me. I was thinking we would walk into the town of Mt. Pleasant--the cute shops, the places I longed to go by foot. Then it dawned on me that they may not have been in a car since being on campus. They wanted to 1. get in a car, and 2. go places they hadn't been by foot or bike. What was Yifan looking for? Girlie clothes! I was excited for this task.

Though JC Penny is a department store (she wanted to avoid 'mall' stores), I thought this would give her a good idea of American clothes. We didn't have too many stores in our small town that could do that. We walked in, and there were clearance racks everywhere. We had come on the right day. I grabbed shirt after shirt and handed them over the stall, making her try them on even if they would make her look like a "WOMAN"--the dreaded mammal she did not want to resemble.

After Yifan bought her first "girlie" outfit, I took her and Leong (boy) around town to different bagel shops and stores to explain what different things were and show them the insides of the places so they weren't hesitant to enter on their own. Yifan explained that they hadn't ordered tings they wanted because they didn't know the names. I excitedly went around explaining the "must knows"--ice cream shake, smoothie...you get the picture :) They even taste-tested all different kinds of cream cheese from Big Apple Bagels. Ick! But good news, they like 'sweet' cream cheese!

We settled for the night at Grand Traverse Pie Company and had a coffee. Leong (after saying that he didn't like sweets) bought an entire coconut cream pie (for $14!). I laughed, and Yifan reassured me that they would eat it that day AND the next. Ha. I had a nice coffee--a mix of all the ones on the counter. I never know which to choose. We sat there for a good long while, just discussing differences in language, culture, lifestyles. It was a rewarding night.

When I woke up yesterday morning (Saturday), I talked to Gracie, Sunny, Shema, Annie, and Lavanja (all from India). It was a beautiful start to the day. Then when I was in the shower, my friend Dana called me (a student at CMU from Bangalore, India). I was so happy to get together with her and talk about places, foods, and tendencies that we both understood. We also went to get coffee but brought it back to my beautiful porch. It was a nice setting for our couple hours of coffee talk. We are planning a visit to get Indian food soon. Oh, thank goodness. I make my own every day, but it's just not "quite" the same :)

So yes, China, India, America--such love all around. A beautiful weekend/beginning.

I went to church this morning at 8, though I was sure the time was changed. The recording still said 8, so I went just in case. When I got there, the parking lot was empty and the sign said 9. Goodness--how much of my life is run by recordings. I hope to do better next time :)

Weekend Home

Goodness.

I have come to realize that just about everywhere is home when I'm at peace and kissing God's glories all around! Those glories might be flowers, tea grounds, or smooshy cheeks of beautiful children. Mmmmm; but I make sure to kiss them all.

This weekend I traveled to my home, home--where my mother sheltered my sister and me for a good 7 years and continues to do so whenever we visit. My mom and I decided to go on a bike ride to find the new path that was put in (and is supposed to be extended one day all the way to Mackinaw Island!). We were riding alongside of the road, and I finally stopped my mom and told her that I wasn't really enjoying being next to the busy cars. She suggested we take the road to our right that went off into nature. "Sounds good to me!"

We biked and biked with no end in sight. It was beautiful to just "be" in nature with my mom. There were beautiful flowers and places (like fish preserves) that I never knew were near my home. When we came to a road crossing, we jogged back toward the direction of our house. We knew we'd have to come close at some point. 

I remember the exact moment my mom got tired.

She mentioned calling my neighbor. Before we had left, he said to just enjoy the ride and call if we didn't want to bike back--"just go." I told her that he was just being generous and that our bikes wouldn't fit in his car. "I would have never biked this far if I didn't know I had someone to rely on to get us home," she said.

Wow! What an amazing statement. Those who believe in God may push farther because we know there is someone we can rely on--someone guiding us home and protecting us. We go into the darkness--or onto random paths--because of our faith.

I convinced my mom to continue going. She turned on her iPod and we sang ourselves home. She was adamant to learn the distance of our travel, so we retraced it with her car: 11 miles. She was proud of that journey. Once she let go, not worrying about distance, she was able to make it.

The next day we went tubing down the Ausable. We began at 5 p.m. on the shortest trail--approximately a two hour "float." Once we got in our tubes, my mom 'remembered' that 2 hours was if we were in a canoe. Since we floated into some groups of people enjoying a few too many drinks, we developed a game of 'visit, paddle, paddle.' We'd visit while we were passing the groups and paddle at least a quarter mile in front of them before we took a breather. This got pretty exhausting. I had never paddled with my arms for a constant amount of time. We enjoyed the beauty the entire way--looking all around us and getting a few songs out when we were along with wilderness all around us. We ended up making it to our destination in just over 2 hours--constant arm motion for 2 hours. Wow--anything really is possible with God. He knows the weakness of my arms. At times my mom even noted that I was in a stronger 'current' than she was because I started going pretty fast. I don't think it was my arms--I think God helped me a little :)

It was so nice to share those moments with my mom.

Now I am 'home' in Mt. Pleasant. I stayed up late talking with a couple new friends. Then I woke up this morning after sleeping like an angel. Two little kids came galloping through our doors, making music on guitars and drums. Such a beautiful day already. I feel I have lived it fully--and it's only 11:15 a.m.

Peace--certainly not worldwide--but in a heart that IS worldwide.