But, no more giving in.  Here’s to standing against the fear and the doubt.

This song has been on repeat in my head for the last few days…

“I may be weak. Your Spirit’s strong in me. My flesh may fail. But, my God, You never will.

So thankful to serve a God who never fails.

Madlove.

I figured I’d share with you part of my next project.  CMB and I were so blessed to receive a free comfy couch from a wonderful friend of ours.  It fits into our living room quite nicely, but it was looking a little naked.  I shopped around for some durable and fun throw pillows, but I just couldn’t see spending $20 a pillow, which is surprisingly what most stores price their pillows at.  I found a few bargain pillows at some discount stores, but none of them really fit the color scheme that we were looking for and I didn’t want to spend any money on items that I didn’t absolutely love. (Remember, CMB and I are trying to work within a budget for our projects). Anyway, I was feeling crafty one afternoon, and decided to venture over to my favorite craft store to see what I could be inspired to do.  After a few minutes of walking around, I found myself looking at some pretty stinkin’ fun fabrics, thinking of my own fabulous pillows.  I spent almost an hour looking around at different fabrics, trying to find things that “went” together instead “matched.”   After finding two fabrics that I liked well enough to buy (and sending pictures to CMB from mid-aisle to make sure he approved as well) I ventured over to the “stuffing.”  I grabbed a huge bag of white stuffing and headed over to get my fabrics cut.  Keep in mind, I didn’t research a single thing before heading to the store, so this was a huge risk. I had no idea how much fabric I would need, nor did I know if one bag of stuffing would be enough.  I bought 1 yard of each fabric and just one bag of stuffing.  (My wonderful roommate happens to have a sewing machine with needles and thread that she said I could use). I ended up paying $23.21 for my fabrics and stuffing.

Once I got home, I decided to give the whole sewing thing a whirl. (I have basically no experience with sewing.  I always find the cutest projects and ideas, but could never carry them out because I didn’t know the first thing about sewing) Honestly, I was feeling a little intimidated by my grand idea, and I kept telling myself that I had probably just wasted $23 bucks. After a few minutes of fiddling with the sewing machine, my roommate and I deemed it the devil (she doesn’t have a lot of experience with “the beast” either) and I was ready to give up.  My roommate suggested that I try making the pillows by hand, and she even helped me get started.

So, for all of you lovely gals out there who are like me, and follow tons of crafty moms and superstars, but are afraid to give it a try yourself..know this: If I can do it. You can do it. I took tons of pictures of my first little journey with a needle and I’ll try to list out my steps as best as I can.

First, lay your fabric face down on a hard surface.

Use a ruler or a straight edge to measure out two identical squares (or whatever shape you want).  I chose to do two 16 inch squares.  I used a pencil to edge out my shape and it was perfect (no show through worries).

After you’ve drawn out your shapes, grab your scissors and start cutting.

After you’ve cut out your pieces of fabric, lay them on top of each other with the outsides (the pretty part) facing each other. The insides of the pillow should be facing the outside at this stage.

If you’re an amateur like myself, you’ll want to use some straight pins to line all the edges up so that you don’t wind up stitching all over the place.

Here’s a close up of the pins..

After you’ve lined up your pins, it’s time to start stitching.  Thread your needle (pull a piece of thread through the opening at the end of your needle and then knot it off at the end of your piece of thread) Start stitching about 2 inches from the edge of your fabric on each side.

(It might be hard to see the stitches in the picture because they are white, but I wanted to use a thread color that wouldn’t show through when I flipped the pillow inside out)

After you have stitched three sides, pull your straight pins out and flip the fabric right side out.  You should be left with the pretty side facing out and the two pieces of fabric should be sewn together on three sides.  Start stuffing your pillow, but make sure to leave room at the top so that you can sew up the last side.

Now that you’ve stuffed your pillow, fold down each edge of your remaining side.  Use straight pins to hold the folds. (This will help your last side blend in with the other three sides).

Now you’re ready to sew up the last side.  Stitch the two folded edges together just as you did to the other three sides. Remember to take your straight pins out a long the way so that you don’t get a mysterious poke when you lay on them!

When you have finished stitching the last side, cut off your excess thread and knot it off.  Then throw it on your couch or bed or wherever and enjoy!

Just a few side notes:

I left off a few things about stitching (such as exactly how to thread your needle, what to do if you run out of thread and need to rethread your needle and begin again, etc.) I would suggest looking up a tutorial on youtube or google, or even asking someone you know.

I haven’t finished all of the pillows yet, but I followed the same steps for each one.  For those of you on a budget, I paid $23.21 and had enough fabric for 4 pillows. That’s about $5.80 per pillow! Take that stinky stores!!

And you might be questioning why I chose that fabric pattern being that it doesn’t seem to really “go” with our couch.  I picked this fabric because it fits with the color scheme that we are planning on using in our living room, and that nice and comfy copper colored couch is going to be getting a lovely khaki or gray covering as soon as some more money finds its way into my bank account!

Here’s to feeling braver about conquering crafty fears.

Madlove.

I announced a while back that CMB and I are renting a house (techincally, he’s renting the house..I don’t move in until post vows) and we’ve been trying to decorate little by little.  CMB literally only had three pieces of furniture when he moved in, and we certainly don’t have the money to furnish the whole house at once, so we’ve been bargain shopping like you wouldn’t believe.

Anyway, I found this piece advertised as a dresser on craigslist about a month ago, and we decided to try and make it work as our foyer table. It was certainly an adventure trying to load this into CMB’s car (think telephone wire) and we basically laughed the entire 45 minutes it took us to get back to the house.

We let it sit in the foyer for about two weeks before deciding if it was indeed “our” piece, and it certainly passed the test.

We had so much fun sprucing this bad boy up (although, I would love nothing more than to never have to move him..ever again.) and we’re pretty excited at how he turned out.

Anyway, here is the before picture:

Think poop brown. seriously.

Getting ready for his big makeover.

CMB sanding. This was when we had no heat which is why he’s all bundled up.

Coat One. This was taken while I was still working on the drawers.  The sides still needed to be painted and they all needed another coat.

The finished product:

The legs still have to be painted as they are still poop brown, but as I said before, I would love nothing more than to never move this beast again, so I’m content with leaving his legs poopy for a few days.

Here are some detail pictures..

We found these knobs at two of our favorite stores, and we’re pretty pleased with how well they seem to work with our chosen color.

Anyway, there he is in all of his cuteness! We’re in the process of finishing off the foyer area and we’ve actually hung two canvas paintings and put a few decorative things on our table.

We’ve had so much fun with all of our DIY projects and I’ll be sure to share some of our other projects with you guys as we finish them!

Enjoy your Wednesday, friends.

Madlove.

Last Sunday, I went with a group of wonderful friends to see The Civil Wars. If you haven’t been listening to their music, you’re totally behind the times, and you’re missing out on some pretty phenomenal talent. It was beyond incredible. They were so fun to watch and we got to witness a pretty cool “moment” in their personal lives. It was amazing and definitely in my top 3 musical experiences.

Road trippin’ with some of my lovely friends wasn’t too shabby either. Our four hour car ride was host to some pretty exciting beginnings and closure to some pretty heavy endings. It was exactly what I needed.

Anyway, we have a new project stirring up, and if I had any question that it was right thing to do, God certainly confirmed that it was indeed the right step as my week unfolded.

In a lot of ways, this week was crazy, and not so much in a good way. The devil has certainly been doing his job, and boy have I been feeling his attack.  It seems like night after night it was always somethin’. The cake topper came yesterday, though.

I was out doing my normal Friday stuff, and around 1:15 or so, I very suddenly felt extremely tired. I’m talking like hardly being able to keep my eyelids open. So, I stood up from where I was sitting and I started moving around. Shortly after, I felt the urge to yawn. And so, like any other normal human being, I yawned. Bad.Move. My jaw locked open. (some of you know that this happened almost two years ago while I was doing the very same thing) Anyway, I had to quickly gather up all of my stuff, and get out to my car so that I could head to the ER. I texted CMB as soon as I could sit down, and then I high-tailed it to the ER.  I pulled up to the ER and it was basically like a horror scene from a movie. As I walked it, tears streaming down my face, I motioned to the men behind the check-in desk that I couldn’t close my mouth. Man #1 calmly gave me a number and told me to have a seat, while saintlikeMan#2 gave me a pen and piece of paper and let me write down a message. At this point, my body was basically convulsing, and once I grabbed the pen, saintlikeMan#2 became very aware of this. He notsocalmly took my pulse, and then became alarmed with how high my heart rate was. Naturally, in a situation like this, anyone’s heart rate is going to jump, but mine was off the charts. So, saintlikeMan#2 politely brought me a wheelchair and wheeled me straight on back to a room.

So, I got back to the room, and the nurse walks in and takes one look at me and then calls me by name and immediately begins to help me get comfortable. Turns out, she was my nurse 2 years ago, and never forgot my name. There are no words to describe my relief. Again, this whole open locked jaw thing is extremely painful, and in those moments, having that nurse there who knew me and knew what to do was the biggest sign that Jesus loved me. I tried to explain to her that CMB was coming and she took care of everything. I tried my hardest to relax and be patient. When CMB walked in, I pretty much lost it all over again, but thanks to his comforting nature, I quickly calmed back down and tried to rest. Shortly after, my grams walked in, and she was wonderful.

The nurse/my best friend helped get things moving very quickly and before I knew it, the hippest looking doctor and his super sweet medical student were standing before me explaining how they were going to help me. I signed all of the consent forms and in came nurse/bff with around 5 tubes of meds that I can only imagine came straight from the gates of Heaven. She pumped them into my IV and immediately my body stopped hurting. (For those of you who think medicine is not of God, boyyyyyyy are you wrong.) When they gave me the real drug, I lost all consciousness and when I opened my eyes again, CMB and hip doc where standing over me. I could hear nurse/bff saying that I did very well, and after a few hugs from CMB and checking more than the appropriate times that my mouth was closed, I let out a huge sigh of relief.

After that drama was over, I had some x-rays and apple juice and they sent me on my way. The road ahead is more than likely long, as I will be seeing an oral surgeon as soon as I can get an appointment. But, for the moment, I’m feeling okay, swollen cheeks and all.

Needless to say, it was a crazy day, and certainly an attack as I had to cancel a very crucial meeting. But, meetings can be rescheduled and my God is bigger than any attack, so I’m feeling unshaken and even more motivated.

And, just as the Bible says that God makes all things work together for good, He sure does. Because I was so exhausted after leaving the ER, my Friday night was instructed to be spent laying around at home. Good part? I finished another part of my DIY project for our new house!

I can’t wait to share those projects with you guys, and I promise I will be…soon!

Hopefully, your weekends didn’t start off the same way mine did. Praying that you guys have wonderful and relaxing weekends!

And if your week/weekend is sucky, remember, God is bigger than whatever you’re going through. Press in to Him and trust that He’s got you.

Madlove.

Anyway, I just thought I would share with you guys a little tid bit of exciting news.

After months of hunting around for some cute wedding shoes, I finally found them! They are not what I was originally hunting around for, as they are not heels, nor are they blue, but they are grand. (And just so happen to come from my favorite store with the big red bulls-eye)

Most of you guys know me, and a few of you have the inside scoop about the wedding details, so you know that CMB and I are about as low-maintenance as they come with all of this stuff.  We set a pretty low budget for what has grown into a pretty large wedding, and we’re basically just having fun making decisions along the way.

I’ve honestly not been doing a single thing wedding related in the last month, and being that we only have four months and two weeks until the big day, I suppose I should put my game face back on.

CMB and I have been regularly chatting about ways to cut costs down, while still making our day fun and unique, and to toot our own horns, I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job. We’ve been insanely blessed to have friends and family offer discount or free services, and thanks to our frugal upbringings, we’ve basically spent hours searching for the best bargains. And, surprisingly enough, CMB really does help me with all of this stuff.

*Speaking of bargains, I found my shoes for a grand total of $17.00 (before tax). I’ve never really understood the whole tradition of buying an expensive pair of wedding shoes and then only wearing them once.  Plus, if you wear a long dress, who is even going to see the expensive shoes that you’re only wearing that day? Maybe I’m just not down with wedding world rules, but I’m pretty stinkin’ pumped that I found a pair of shoes that are comfortable, cute, classy, and that I fully intend to wear on the honeymoon and for the rest of the summer!

Anyway, we’re cutting costs in a lot of other areas, and we’re still looking for more ways to cut down on unnecessary spending.

So, how did you guys cut down on costs of your weddings? Did you stay under budget? Wish you would have splurged on something in particular?

I’d love to share your responses with some friends, and of course with CMB. For those of you who message me, feel free to do that for this post as well.

Hope you guys are having a great Wednesday!

Madlove.

For tonight though, I don’t want this blog to be about me or whatever is going on in my life.  I’ve been following the story of the incredibly strong and beautiful Mcrae family for about a year now.  I’ve written about their youngest daughter, Kate, before, and tonight, I’m sitting here heartbroken at the reason for bringing them up again.

Kate has been battling a very aggressive form of cancer for over a year.  Things were seriously looking up for this family, and in the last 24 hours, their world has changed once more.  Kate’s latest MRI revealed that there are new spots on her brain, and the Mcrae family is once again feeling like they’re standing in the the raging storm.

Surprisingly enough, they have been on my heart for the last week. I knew that things were looking up for them, and honestly, I just hadn’t even checked their blogs to see how things were going.  Their struggle with this disease has been one close to my heart for a few different reasons, and reading their posts of how good God has been to them has often reminded me that my circumstances really aren’t that bad and that if they can praise him in the midst of their storm, I can too.

They are obviously asking for some serious prayer and intercession for sweet, Kate.

You can check out their blogs here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate  and here: http://aaronmcrae.wordpress.com/

Let’s join in with this family and plead the blood of Jesus over this sweet family and the road that they’re walking once more.

Madlove.

This weekend, CMB and I made a very special trip to Nashville for CMB to take care of some business.  This was the first trip of many and it played a huge part in what our life together is gonna look like.  The weekend held many hours of self reflecting, out-loud-dreaming, laughing, and praying.  We left with a lot of goals to reach and hurdles to jump, but we’re taking it one day at a time.

I’m honestly feeling like we’re at a place in our lives where so much is changing.   It’s hard to absorb the full weight of one change because it seems like before we can take it all the way in, something else changes too.  Most of our new changes have been good far beyond our wildest dreams, and I’ve really been immersed in God’s goodness throughout all of this. CMB and I have been consistently baffled at how undeservedly blessed we are. How could we not give the glory to God? There is no way that we could have made this happen for ourselves..we just feel so humbled and deeply grateful for the blessings we’ve been given.

Anyway, in the spirit of change..I’m super excited to tell you guys that this ole ugly blog is about to be kicked to the curb! It’s in the process of getting a whole new makeover…something I’ve been toying with for weeks and finally getting around to! The new blog will hopefully be much cuter and a little bit more “me.” Looking back at past posts, it seems like I only ever blog when I’m ranting on about something and I’m sure some of you think that I’m always so serious about things. The new blog will be a little more well rounded and will include some more day-to-day things, including our DIY projects for the house!

Speaking of house, (my favorite topic), I have a funny post with some pictures coming your way soon. We’ve been spending pretty much all of our free time there (wearing parkas because we haven’t gotten the gas turned on yet) and I get teary eyed at the thought of how much laughter we’re already sharing there. It holds such a special place in my heart (even though it’s just a silly ole house). We CMB just finished putting together our very first piece of furniture, and let’s just say, it’s not his new favorite hobby.  I personally had a great time witnessing this, and it will definitely be a story we tell for years to come. Don’t worry, you’ll get a laugh out of it too!

We’re about to begin project two and if it goes anything like the first, I’ll have a six pack from laughing so hard…and CMB will probably have even more blisters. (helloooo sand paper!)

For now, though, Food Network is callin’ my name. Sleep tight, friends!

Madlove.

This past Saturday, CMB and I signed an official lease for our new home!!!

It is the most darling house with original hardwood floors throughout. It has two giant bedrooms, and two fun bathrooms. It has a fireplace in the living room and a perfect wall of recessed bookshelves. The kitchen has new counter tops and a cute little fridge. It has a beautiful dining room (which I think is my favorite room) and two screened in porches. It has a great backyard and it’s in our favorite area of town! We’ve already started picking up new furniture (hellllllo, craigslist), and planning out some new adventures.

We’re so stinkin’ excited about our cute little house, and we have about a million DIY projects already lined up that we can’t wait to share with you guys.

For now, I’ll leave you with a picture of the cutest fiance in the world, opening the door to his new home for the first time.

I’ll keep updating with all of our new projects and fun! For now though, I’m off to buy new cabinet hardware for our new foyer table.

Madlove.

However, with the end of the year drawing close and with all of the exciting things that are coming up in 2011 (IT’S WEDDDDDDDDDING YEAR!!!!!!!!) I can’t help but try to use January 1st as a fun little kickstart to a few things I’d like to change.  My resolution this year to end my guilty pleasures. But not in the way that you think.  I’m not at all saying that I’m going to stop having guilty pleasures…I’m simply saying that I’m not going to feel guilty about them anymore.  I’m embracing them..every single one of them. And as lame and embarrassing as most of them are, they are a part of what makes me, and I’m not feeling guilty about that anymore. So, as a declaration to blogland, here’s step one to embracing all of the things that make me, me.

1. I’m an avid watcher of MTV’s Sixteen and Pregnant. I could watch this show for hours on end, and there have been more than a few episodes that have made me reach for the box of tissues.

2. I love John Mayer’s music. As mainstream as he is, and as arrogant as he can be, I just can’t not listen to it. I own every album he’s ever released, and going to his show was on my bucket list.

3. I eat extremely non-healthy things for breakfast almost daily. Cold pizza, last night’s cookies, potato chips, cold spaghetti, ice cream, kit-kats, and the list goes on. It’s horribly unhealthy and I’ve been told time and time again (mostly by CMB, I’ll add) that I should stop, but how could possibly turn down a cold slice of Hawaiian?

4. I ride with my gas light on for as long as possible. And, I actually ran out of gas in my neighborhood a few weeks ago at 10PM and CMB had to come to my rescue. He laughed. For days. Since that incident, I’ve tried to be a little better about it, but the little gas pump still shows up on my dash pretty regularly.

5. When my iPod is dead, I pretty much only listen to country radio. It’s pretty embarrassing. I’m not at all saying that I think the songs are brilliantly written, nor do I think that some of the singers are that amazing. But, maybe it’s because there’s still a little bit of a Georgia girl somewhere inside me, or maybe it’s because I grew up listening to it (along with Christian radio), I just love it. I’ve been secretly getting music snob, CMB, to convert, and secretly, he has. I have more fun singing and dancing along to country radio with CMB than I do with songs that are made for those sorts of things. And he does too, even if he’ll never admit it to anyone.

5. I love to sing. But only when I’m alone. CMB are about to get married and he has still never heard me sing for real.  Because I don’t like to sing in front of people, I think I’ve developed a slightly decent talent with mouthing the words to songs.  It’s almost as much fun as actually singing.

6. I’m not one of those people that finds joy in cleaning things. I do love coming home to a clean house, but I’m not really a fan of doing the actual work. There are few times when I get really into cleaning, but during those times, I get really in to it. I clean and clean and clean and then if I haven’t satisfied the cleaning monster that has raged up, I will RE-clean what I just cleaned. It’s ridiculous.  CMB happens to be more toward the end of the “joyful cleaners” spectrum, which we think is God’s sense of humor.

Anyway, there they are. Those are the things that make up part of who I am.

And I’m not sorry. I’d challenge you all to let go of the guilt that makes you who you all are too.

Madlove.

Let’s just skip my apologizing for not posting, you’re all too used to hearing that.

I suppose another update is in order, as much has changed in the last few months.

I’m days away from starting my last semester of college, and although I’m beyond excited to put this behind me, I can’t even express the dread I feel for the upcoming weeks of work. It appears that my last semester will be loaded with six classes and lots of outside work.

That being said, in sixteen weeks, I’ll be “out in the real world” whatever that means, and there are certainly times when I feel apprehensive about what life after May means for me.  See, I’ve majored in Education, but honestly have no desire to do anything related to that for at least the next few years.  I know it sounds like I just wasted years of college education and stupid amounts of money on something that I don’t even want to do, and I should suck it up and get a job that requires me to use at least some portion of the information that I have soaked up in the last few years.  But for now, I don’t feel called to that profession, and I think it would be stupid for me to sign up for a job that sometimes requires sixteen hour days full of things that I most times sometimes loathe.  So, on April 30, 2011, I’ll be a tired and fearful graduate, fresh faced graduate who has no idea what the next step will be.

The holiday season is almost over and I can honestly say that this year was probably the best year of celebrating that my family has had in a long time.  It was a nice and refreshing week of laughing and relaxing without the eerie cloud of grief hanging over our heads.  And, while there were times that it still felt wrong to be celebrating without one of us, it felt more right this year than it has since one of us left.

And now for the reason that I have been unashamedly absent from blogland..

CMB and I got engaged.  Because I’m the worst blogger, I neglected to share this news with you for almost three months. With our crazy schedules and with all of the new things that seem to come with being engaged, my free time has been spent stalking following some wedding design blogs, and even though my “drafts” section for this blog has filled up rather fast in the last two months, I’ve just never gotten around to posting anything.

The journey we’re on is definitely fun and it’s so stinkin’ exciting, and honestly, I still have to pinch myself sometimes. Planning the wedding has been so much fun, and even though it has it’s moments of unwanted stress, we’ve been blessed to only encounter people who want to help us and who encourage and uplift us with every step.  I still have many moments every day when it all “hits” me.  In my moments of self reflection, I still keep asking myself why it is that CMB chose me. I feel so completely undeserving of this incredible gift and when I imagine life after walking down the aisle, I usually need a kleenex.  I’m obviously pumped about wedding day, but if we’re being honest, I’m a thousand times more excited about the day that follows wedding day, and the day after that, and the day after that.  I’m excited about all of the little day to day things that I’m gonna get to share with CMB.  I’m excited about grocery shopping, traveling, and even sharing laundry…yeah, I said I’m excited about doing laundry. I can’t wait for the years of laughter, tears, ups, downs, and memories that I’m gonna share with my best friend.

CMB and I are gearing up for our monthly travel (or at least it seems like we travel that frequently). We’re heading up to Nashville in a few weeks, and I am so excited. We’ll be up there to take care of some business for CMB, but I’ll let him tell you about that. Anyway, this trip is the first of many giant steps of faith, and even though I’m positive that there are obstacles already in place, I’m not even nervous.  I’m so excited for CMB and my little heart swells at the thought of how life changing this is going to be for us. (I’ll fill you guys in after CMB breaks the news to blogland).

Anyway, I think that about sums up the update.  Now, on to my reason for posting..

On Christmas Eve, CMB and I had to venture out to the Atlanta airport to pick up his pop. If you’re at all familiar with the Atlanta airport, you probably know how incredibly crazy it can be. But, despite it’s craziness, I think it ranks on my top ten list of favorite places.  The place holds a lot of memories for me, and it has often times either cured or spurred on my travel bug.  I’ve visited the place many times to pick up someone or say goodbye, and each time has been completely different.  It was in the atrium of the Atlanta airport that one my dearest and most tender memories came to be..dropping CMB off for his solo trip to Peru. Time and time again, the airport has taught me something..

My most recent trip to the Atlanta airport (other than Christmas Eve) was just a few days prior to that. I flew in for the holidays and I’m seriously not over exaggerating..when I stepped into Concourse C, I took in a breath like most do when they step into fresh mountain air. Yeah, I know I’m a weirdo. I was so pumped about my short little journey to baggage and to my mother who was awaiting my arrival.

So back to Christmas Eve. We got there about thirty minutes prior CMB’s dad’s scheduled arrival, and soon discovered that his flight had been delayed a few minutes.  So, we grabbed a bagel and I convinced CMB that we should pick a spot to stand and watch people coming up the arrival escalator to greet their loved ones.  Let me just tell you, if the Atlanta airport wasn’t on my top list of places, it certainly is after that half hour or so of watching people find their people. Because the Atlanta airport is so huge, there are so many people from every culture imaginable and it was one of my all time favorite things to witness their greetings.  CMB stood next to me and laughed as I cried with each new family or couple or friend finding their person/people. I don’t know if you guys have ever seen the movie Love Actually, but the opening scene is from London’s Heathrow airport, and the narrator says this:

Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… love actually is all around.

I got to witness that on Christmas Eve. Not a single person who got off that escalator yelled at their person. No one spoke about stupid stuff going on in the world. No one threatened another person. No one argued. No one stormed off. No one scowled. No one hashed out old regrets. No one was welcomed with hateful greetings.

Instead, the travelers were often greeted with spouses or significant others tackling them out of their pure excitement and joy of seeing and touching the others face. They were greeted with cheesy signs that their families had made that let them know that they were loved. They were greeted with tears of joy and love.  CMB and I felt like we were standing in a little pocket of existence where it seemed like no evil actually existed.  I stood there, rooted in my spot, crying as the old Indian man greeted his grown son with a kiss to the top of the head. I listened to the family beside me laugh and eagerly anticipate the arrival of their beloved college student.  I watched the family break the barrier that we stood behind as they rushed to the middle of the hallway to greet their grandparents and sons and daughters that had just arrived from a distant country. I watched the soliders come up the escalator and look around only to find that the loud clapping and cheering they were hearing was for them.  I watched the army man return home to a fiancee who couldn’t hold back the tears. Over and over and over again we stood there and watched tangible love happening all around us. There is seriously nothing better in the world than that. Those thirty or so minutes will be something that I cherish for the rest of my life.

If you’re questioning if love exists, or if it’s something that can happen in your life, I’d challenge you to root yourself to a spot and just watch the world pass you by for a few minutes.  Love exists wherever you choose to see it. Go beyond all of the dark and hateful things that seem to rule our lives and seek out a little ray of light.  Go love someone. Let someone love you. Seek out the ultimate love in Jesus, and walk in His ways. Hold on to love and pull out that ray of light whenever the darkness closes in.

Hold tight to the goodness of love and when you’re in the darkest of seasons, remember that “love actually is all around.”

Madlove.