"Love is like π -- natural, irrational, and very important". ~ Lisa Hoffman
though i have an old friend named lisa hoffman, i'm pretty sure that whatever website i took that from didn't mean her.
so since i've picked up reading some friends' blogs this summer, i've felt somewhat guilty, thinking that i too should blog (at least to keep up my writing skills! i seriously haven't written anything since early austria!), but it hasn't been coupled w/an actual desire to blog that was strong enough to overcome to quasi-obligation to blog somewhat consistently that comes with blogging once -- except about once a month. this time, i've decided to give in. so, no guarantees as to how long this will last, but here are claire's musings on a few things, in absolutely no particular order whatsoever:
aaron. it was /really/ good to see him this past week. it blows my mind that we are still as close as we were in austria, when we spent ridiculous amounts of time together to the point where pretty much everyone thought we were or should be dating, even though we've had little substantial communication between then and now. the week began w/a 4hr car ride from dc to nj, &as i was sitting there, listening to him bare his soul to me as if it were the most normal thing in the world for him to do, it struck me what an amazing, invaluable thing true friendship is. and as he spoke, i could see -- through both what he said and what he didn't say -- amazing ways in which God has worked in his life. not to suggest that i ever doubted that the Lord would use all the prayers and sacrifices He's put on my heart to offer for this young man, but to actually /observe/ their fruits as we talked and throughout the week: wow! the whole week taught me so much about the depths to which one can know and understand another human being, and it made me deeply appreciate simultaneously the incredible relationship i have with aaron (the first truly deep friendship i've ever had with a man) and the growing relationship i have with john (which defies any explanation i could try to put to it, other than that it's deeper than i ever would've imagined). WOW. i am a better person for his visit this week, and for all the time we spent together: in prayer, in conversation, in silence, in song. it was absolutely one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and i thank God for it many times over. :)
my sister. she's 12, 8 years younger than i am (that's right, all you internet stalkers: i'm 20! so there.). so it shouldn't be too weird that she's wearing too much lip gloss, just as i did at that age, and it's easy enough to just write off how strange it is as the fact that she's growing up, too. what /is/ bizarre, however, is that she's wearing a bra -- in a cup size bigger than i got into 'till sophomore year of high school! she's in 7th grade! now granted, she's bigger than i was @that age, but still! also, i fully expect her to be several inches taller than i am when i return for the next break. (she's also been pms-ing for the past several months straight, so that's definitely coming.) my sister's growing up, guys. it's really weird. at least she hasn't started talking to me about boys. yet.
i s'pose i might as well talk about my own hormones, while i'm covering my sisters. you don't hafta run away in fear, guys; i'll try & keep it G-rated (G for Guy, of course!). my hormones have gone through the roof lately, and it's weird. i'm not used to a seemingly-random depression once a month. and my regular symptoms have returned to a regularity and intensity i haven't experienced for YEARS. i s'pose it all comes with the healing and the becoming the woman God created me to be. but it still takes rather a lot of getting used to.
and there's more. but the only other thing that comes to mind to talk about presently still feels to sacred to post publicly just yet. i'm sure i'll get there though. in the meantime, i am comforted by the sudden influx of austria photos to my computer from john's and aaron's. good times.
so since i've picked up reading some friends' blogs this summer, i've felt somewhat guilty, thinking that i too should blog (at least to keep up my writing skills! i seriously haven't written anything since early austria!), but it hasn't been coupled w/an actual desire to blog that was strong enough to overcome to quasi-obligation to blog somewhat consistently that comes with blogging once -- except about once a month. this time, i've decided to give in. so, no guarantees as to how long this will last, but here are claire's musings on a few things, in absolutely no particular order whatsoever:
aaron. it was /really/ good to see him this past week. it blows my mind that we are still as close as we were in austria, when we spent ridiculous amounts of time together to the point where pretty much everyone thought we were or should be dating, even though we've had little substantial communication between then and now. the week began w/a 4hr car ride from dc to nj, &as i was sitting there, listening to him bare his soul to me as if it were the most normal thing in the world for him to do, it struck me what an amazing, invaluable thing true friendship is. and as he spoke, i could see -- through both what he said and what he didn't say -- amazing ways in which God has worked in his life. not to suggest that i ever doubted that the Lord would use all the prayers and sacrifices He's put on my heart to offer for this young man, but to actually /observe/ their fruits as we talked and throughout the week: wow! the whole week taught me so much about the depths to which one can know and understand another human being, and it made me deeply appreciate simultaneously the incredible relationship i have with aaron (the first truly deep friendship i've ever had with a man) and the growing relationship i have with john (which defies any explanation i could try to put to it, other than that it's deeper than i ever would've imagined). WOW. i am a better person for his visit this week, and for all the time we spent together: in prayer, in conversation, in silence, in song. it was absolutely one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and i thank God for it many times over. :)
my sister. she's 12, 8 years younger than i am (that's right, all you internet stalkers: i'm 20! so there.). so it shouldn't be too weird that she's wearing too much lip gloss, just as i did at that age, and it's easy enough to just write off how strange it is as the fact that she's growing up, too. what /is/ bizarre, however, is that she's wearing a bra -- in a cup size bigger than i got into 'till sophomore year of high school! she's in 7th grade! now granted, she's bigger than i was @that age, but still! also, i fully expect her to be several inches taller than i am when i return for the next break. (she's also been pms-ing for the past several months straight, so that's definitely coming.) my sister's growing up, guys. it's really weird. at least she hasn't started talking to me about boys. yet.
i s'pose i might as well talk about my own hormones, while i'm covering my sisters. you don't hafta run away in fear, guys; i'll try & keep it G-rated (G for Guy, of course!). my hormones have gone through the roof lately, and it's weird. i'm not used to a seemingly-random depression once a month. and my regular symptoms have returned to a regularity and intensity i haven't experienced for YEARS. i s'pose it all comes with the healing and the becoming the woman God created me to be. but it still takes rather a lot of getting used to.
and there's more. but the only other thing that comes to mind to talk about presently still feels to sacred to post publicly just yet. i'm sure i'll get there though. in the meantime, i am comforted by the sudden influx of austria photos to my computer from john's and aaron's. good times.