I really like the word embrace.
Besides the clear message of love and affection that it brings to mind, there is an intentionality to it that challenges me.
At our wedding, Jeff and I danced our first dance to the popular 80's song, Just You & I.
We chose it for this line: "And I remember our first embrace, the smile that was on your face, the promises that we made."
I DO.
I remember our first embrace. It came before our first kiss.
And meant a lot more.
To embrace a thing is to hold onto it whole-heartedly. Both arms.
That's the thing too. It takes starting with empty arms.
In order to embrace whole-heartedly something has to get put down.
The embrace Jeff and I shared on that little country road almost 30 years ago held a lifetime of promise.
And more sacrifice than we'd ever imagined.
Over and over through the years I have had to "put things down" so with empty arms I could embrace all life brought . . good and not so.
But our marriage has been better than I ever dreamed.
Dreams are like that.
They require empty arms. A wholehearted embrace. Lots of sacrifice.
And much like marriage and babies, if we knew how hard they'd be, we'd probably say no.
Today I'm thinking about what I need to put down, so with empty arms I can fully embrace the God-sized dream I'm pursuing.
It's not easy.
My kids and husband like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every night.
Clean underwear too. Except Sam . . he's ten and doesn't care a bit. We could all learn something from Sam. Just kidding.
Isolating myself from friends and family would kind of defeat the purpose of creating something that encourages others.
So what? What can I put down?
Aha!
I can put down perfection.
Expectations that are unnecessarily high.
The need to control (my infinite delusion).
And instead accept and enjoy today. As is.
Embracing the task at hand. Wholeheartedly.
Whether it's making a meal or working on WINSOME.
Perfection, expectations, control . . they're too heavy to carry anyway.
And my arms have better things to embrace.
Since Valentine's Day is coming. Here's a song for you 80's ladies!
And how about that embrace in the picture up top?! It's my son Daniel with his brand new fiancé, Hilary. Congratulations, guys!
Labels: God-sized Dreams
