Becoming…

The other day I got back to our office from an appointment at work and discovered this big, green bug on my briefcase.  I was understandably upset and quite dismayed it had decided to hitch a ride.  Apparently, this is the time of year for these noisy cicada bugs to come out and play.  Uggg…not a fan, especially not hitching a ride with me.

Thinking about the bug I realized that maybe me and Mr. Bug had a little more in common then I would like to believe.  In what way could I possibly similar to a bug you ask?  I believe it is because we both doing the same thing right now…we are becoming.

Of course, he is becoming a better bug.  He is outgrowing his skin and coming out better than before.  That’s what he’s been made to do and that is what he is doing.

What then am I becoming?  I too am becoming better, just like I have been made to do.  Maybe you can’t always see my progress like Mr. Bug’s, but I’m hoping sometimes you can.  I admit that sometimes it’s a pretty slow process, and it can be said that sometimes my progress slides backwards a little bit, but hopefully it is mostly progress forward.

I know there are things each and every day that God is working on me with; growing me, changing me, making me shiny and new in His image.  And like Mr. Bug, I will one day emerge from my old, yucky, brown “skin” and leave it behind.  I will be new and bright and beautiful…and like Him!

Some days I think I can actually see it…just a little of the new me and less of the old me.  Some days I think it will never, ever happen and all I can see is the same old me.  And some days I seem to want to cling to the old me…sometimes it is so scary to change into something new.  I wonder if Mr. Bug feels the same?

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^{1 Corinthians 15 ~}

⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Mish mash…

My life has been in such a whirlwind that last while that I don’t think I could conherently put it in writing in a form of organization so I’m just going to just throw it up here for your reading enjoyment…

* Goodbye, Bella ~ I don’t even know where to start on this.  The last month or so has been spent getting ready for the big move to Kenya and then on June 28th she was gone.  I kind of felt like, “What do I do now?” the first couple of days since everything had been so focused on all the hundreds of small details of an international move.  I actually did much better at the airport than I thought I would.  Bella got upset in the airport which probably helped me keep it together (for some reason when anyone else starts crying I go into caretaker mode and I quit crying).  Then walking back to the car I was looking at the ground the whole way because Bella’s little missionary man Joey and I had bought her had fallen off of her bookbag and I was determined to find him…which I did right next to our car!  In spite of 4 days of travel, two of which were being stuck in Brussels (poor baby), Bella finally made it to Kenya.  We were able to speak to her via Facebook chat for a good while yesterday, so that was nice.

* The Working Man ~ Joey finally started with the apprenticeship program and started working on a job site on Thursday, July 5th.  It is in Opelika so it involves an hour drive each way.  He is looking into extended stay motels, etc. to cut down on the daily driving.  This is a great opportunity for him and we are so excited for him to get on this program.  Coming out of it he should be trained in welding, pipefitting, and plumming.

* Crusing ~ Bud and I are finally getting to go on our cruise for our 25th anniversary (only 1 year and 2 months late, but who’s counting).  We are so excited and will be leaving late August from New Orleans for a 7-day adventure in the Western Caribbean!  This is something we have looked forward to doing for years and we are so excited to get to do this.

* Good times with good friends ~ Joey and Laura took Sylvia and I to Atlanta over the weekend for a fun trip seeing The Bodies exhibit and then Collective Soul in concert.  Joey and I have been wanting to see Collective Soul for a long time, probably since I introduced him to them when he was a lot shorter =-).  We got to see them in this really cool venue called The Tabernacle in Atlanta.  It is a smaller venue which used to be an old church among other things.  It has 3 stories, hardwood floors, and the interior is painted with all this cool stuff.  Very eclectic and different.  Collective Soul played a set of one whole album from beginning to end, took a 15 minute break, and then returned to play all their hits.  It was a wonderfully entertaining show with lots of energy and fun.  It was Sylvia’s first ever rock concert and she really enjoyed it.  I definitely want to go back to The Tabernacle again.

The Bodies exhibit was also really fun and interesting.  It is in Atlanta until the end of the year so everyone should check it out.