House on the Rock

I think I finally found a summary of my year. Just like every year, I'll write a post which recaps many moments big and small, but yesterday I heard a simple phrase which brought a sort of closure. A synthesis, if you will.  I was walking a loop around Cool Creek Park - the conveniently-placed nature center directly across from our apartment - with Alex Francis. It's a concrete lap surrounding trees and trails that measures exactly one mile, strangely akin to the loop that borders Taylor U. Despite only living here for six months, I've probably walked close to 70 miles around this park. There are days I've done four to five laps, simply because there's something so healing about the strangely-placed serenity of woods and streams centered directly in the fast-growing suburb of Westfield. I told Alex of the way Joe and I frequent this park for runs and walks, but lately have found it hard to push ourselves. The park, after all, is quite hilly, and the moment my legs s...

 I remember being about six months into my relationship with Joe and thinking that nothing in the world could possibly make me happier than being engaged to him. I Pinterest-saved every ring I saw; I dreamed of our wedding day; I made lists of all the details on every scrap piece of paper. In my mind, nothing would beat that feeling. December 5, 2021 was the one-year anniversary of our engagement. And yet, by the grace of God, the same day one year later far surpassed even the most joyous excitement of his proposal. My sweet love was baptized at Castleview Church - a day full of excitement, tears, celebration, and praising God. I never, ever want to forget it. He'd been thinking about getting baptized for about a year. He did it at his home church when he was twelve, but mostly because his friends were and it was the natural next step after his confirmation class. The Lord continued to stir his heart toward that public declaration of faith, and by the fall of this past year, the st...