reflections & a final day of August

Is it just me or does time just seem to be speeding up with every passing year?

It's incredible to me that G and I have already began another Fall semester at Moody, which happens to be his LAST. Whoa!! I can really remember it like it was last weekend, visiting him here in Chicago as he was half way through the first semester of his Moody career. We were just engaged for a couple months then, and the idea of us living in this beautiful city seemed so unbelievably unreal, but magical at the same time.

I love the beginning verses in Psalm 139 that say,

      You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

      You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

      You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

The reason I love these words is because, like the rest of scripture, they are TRUE. & I am reminded of that often as I get older and my life continues to change. I am reminded that God knows me. He really KNOWS ME, and every dream & thought that's in my heart. Since I was very young, maybe 8 or 9 years old, I've wanted to marry young. Of course at that age, and really until the real prospect of getting engaged was on my mind, I had a very small idea of what that really meant. But I knew it was something I wanted & hoped for; most people who know me knew this dream. A dream not many people knew about however, was my dream to live somewhere new. Since high school I've seen myself living somewhere out of New Jersey, and had the desire to "start over" in a sense, to gain a new perspective on the world. 

So at a very young 19 years old, newly engaged & visiting my future husband in the city we would both be living, in months time, I was seeing God make so many of my dreams, dreams I believe He placed in my heart, a reality. Dreams and desires I kept in my heart, that only God knew were coming into fruition all at once while our plans for marriage, going to my dream Christian school (didn't even know it was then), and living in an amazing city (walking distance from the "beach"!!) were all about to happen.

I don't deserve this. I am not a perfect person, and won't ever be; nor am I a perfect follower of Jesus, but that's exactly where the beauty is seen. Nothing I do will change Gods love for me, and that's the biggest blessing I will ever receive! Reflecting on all these things makes me even more grateful today, on this final day of August, as we continue to make new memories & discover even more beauties & eats our first home has to offer. & even though life does not always feel this beautiful & I don't always feel grateful for what God has given me, today am I thankful. Today...

& here are a few photo's from our day. We wanted to try a new place to eat & decided to try Jake Melnick's Corner Tap because they are voted the best wings in Chicago. & almost everywhere we go, G wants to eat chicken wings (a true black man I tell ya!) We didn't try too many things, but what we did have tasted great & the prices were good too! Another eatery down, and lots more to go! On our way home we walked through the small park that's a block away from our building, and there I saw a cherry tree with fallen cherries all over the ground! I'm a bit in denial about the cold that's on it's way because the weather has been so amazing. But this tree reminded me of my love for Fall & the beauty of changing seasons in nature & in life. Life, slow down a bit please, for me?

love, t Olive