Traveling Thoughts

Have you ever reflected on idea that when you were younger the year seemed to draggggggg on but as we grow older the year seems to just fly by? The saying is true, there is always “an app for that” and the TimeHop app illustrates just how quickly time can fly. Or…remind you what happened so long ago. The TimeHop app pulls images and posting from social media and your phone to let you know what you were doing a year ago on this date, two years ago, three years ago, and so on. Last year (in 2014), I spent the first two weeks of the new year in Vietnam and Cambodia with a group from Methodist Theological School in Ohio . It wasn’t a mission trip, but a mission of being, learning, and experiencing another culture and context. Learning this practice in high school, I’ve been conditioned to find those one or two Kodak moments to share with others when I return. The term “Kodak moment” I’m realizing is starting to become obsolete as we aren’t taking pictures on Kodak cameras anym...

“Please tell me a story!” I would request at bedtime at my grandparents’ house.  My grandmother is a great storyteller and there are so many of her stories that have stuck with me. Who needs Dr. Seuss or fairytales when you have a real life person who can share their story?! She always started each of her stories with "Once upon a time..." because that gets everyone's attention. Sometimes, I find myself mimicking that introduction. It was this nighttime ritual with my grandmother that instilled in me a love for people’s stories.  Being a little too old for bedtime stories, I had to improvise with books. I love to read...all kinds of things, but I find myself drawn to autobiographies. I find it fascinating what people decide to share; how they view themselves, what milestones and parts of history they found formative, and how they perceived the people around them. I always find myself questioning the stories that are left untold in the autobiographi...

A friend asked me today how I was feeling. The truth was, I was feeling AND thinking a lot, which is par for the course. However, I have always found myself being much more introspective at the end of the year. I have a feeling I’m not alone. As the year comes to a close and we anticipate the coming year, there is so much to reflect on. I’m not a regular “journaler” – but over the last 10+ years I’ve found myself writing down reflections at the end of the year. It’s amazing to look back at journal entries isn’t it? To see how we spent so much time worrying about something and to see how it all worked itself out. Or how things seemed to unfold in new and unexpected ways, often for the best even if we found ourselves unsure initially. Looking back on what I wrote for the end of 2013, I was ready to move on and for the year to be over. It was a year of tragedy, loss, and grief with the passing of two people only weeks apart. I spent the rest of the year reeling t...

“So what are you going to do with all your free time now?” A question a good friend asked after I told her that I turned in my last paper completing my seminary journey. It was a similar question I started asking myself this spring. I am a list person. I am driven by creating and meeting goals. I even make lists in my sleep. Seriously. Fewer things in life give me more pleasure than crossing off something from a to do list. So on a road trip to the Foothills of Ohio with a friend this spring, I made a list of 30 things I wanted to “check off” before December 2017. Why the December 2017 timeline? Well, part of creating goals is to have a time line for when you will complete them. This isn’t a bucket list of things I want to do before I die. It is a list of things that work to live out a meaningful life and story. Looking through the list, I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of stories I will be able to share and people I will meet along the way. I think that’s what is so ...