Today in Chicago it’s crisp and cool. It’s one of those big comfy sweater days where you throw your hair in a top knot. Minimal makeup. One of those days you just let yourself be.
I would tell you that I’ve been looking forward to this week for a really long time. On Wednesday I leave for The Influence Conference. I’m so excited to see sweet friends I met last year and to meet blogger friends I’ve made this past year, but have yet to meet. I’m excited to soak in as much as I can about how I can make God known through this blog. I’m excited to learn more about Jesus and let that seep into my heart. I’m just pumped for it all!
Amidst the obvious excitement, I’d tell you that there is also a little part of my heart that aches knowing that Elston won’t be in tow. I was excited to be sharing in the joy with the other pregnant women that will be at the conference. I would have been about seven months pregnant and what I would give to be wobbling my pregnant self around that place with the other wobbling women. I truly do trust in God’s plan in all this even though I will never understand it all on this side of heaven.
At this point in the conversation, it would probably be refill time. It’s Monday, which means an extra cup of coffee is a must. I would continue to tell you what a blessing it has been to have our sweet friend Kanani live with us this past month. She inspires us both and has a soul as sweet as the warm sunshine on a cool day. That’s what she is, a ray of sunshine. She is a young woman who, in her presence, you feel free to just be. You just want to soak her right up because what she adds to this world is so incredibly life-giving. I would tell you, too, that I’m not ready for her to leave at the end of the month.
I know I’ll see her, just probably not as much, and she really has become so special to me. I think I’m not ready for her to go because she’s been such a breath of fresh air in the midst of one of the hardest seasons of my life and I am just so thankful for her. My sweet, dreadlocked Kanani, I’ve told you this before, and I’ll tell you it again, that you are a gem. You are “far more precious than rubies” (proverbs 31), and you have a special place in the hearts of PK and me. We love you!
As we conclude our lovely coffee date, I would ask if it would be okay if we prayed together. For the things that are going on in our lives and for the things that weigh heavy on our hearts. We are in this journey together and I see no better way to conclude such a good morning than with prayers of thanks and praise and requests to the God that loves us so.
Thanks for the sweet lil date, let’s meet again soon.
