a mother's day

"Let's go somewhere the kids can kick off their crocs and play in a shallow river or stream, hop rock to rock, feel the slime of moss between their toes. Let's go somewhere they can climb trees, skip rocks, climb boulders, and explore trails. Let's enjoy a spring evening outdoors with fresh air, flowing water, and the possibility of adventure. Let's be together, enjoy each other...outside. And I want to take pictures of it all, as it unfolds."

"That's what you want to do for Mother's Day?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

He is the best husband for me. I do not wake to a heart necklace of gold and silver, restaurant reservations or a spa certificate. No bouquet of red roses, a new kitchen appliance or expectations of a day of relaxation alone. Instead, he asks, and I spill ideas from a treasury of dreams, displaying vulnerable girl-giddiness with undetectable longing for acceptance. He understands, nods...easily accepts. Accepts me and embraces all that makes me different, every day.
I inner-battle tirelessly to be and have and do as I see in others around me, fighting to be normal. Yet I have been created by the One who made me specifically in this way, for this time and this place, set apart. To easily accept limitations, dreams, is a freedom I am desperate for, run towards. My hope is in Him in whom all things live and move and have their being.
When I remember this truth, resting in that freedom becomes easier. Slowly, I begin to realize who places limitations and confining parameters on who it is that I am.

Me.

~~~

our adventure on a mother's day

::surroundings::


::exploring::




::wandering::

Father, my freedom is in knowing who You are - Your character, Your love, Your forgiveness, Your grace that untangles and smooths over the knots. Let the song on my lips be " I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." Free indeed.