From the National Park Service website: "Bison, elk, and other wildlife roam the rolling prairie grasslands and forested hillsides of one of America's oldest national parks.
Below the remnant island of intact prairie sits Wind Cave, one of the longest and most complex caves in the world. Named for barometric winds at its entrance, this maze of passages is home to boxwork, a unique formation rarely found elsewhere." An Independence day hike through the Canyon trail, a picnic lunch in the Jeep hiding from the heat, and an historic candle lit cave tour with one of the spunkiest park rangers - tales of Alvin McDonald and other early explorers. We ended the day with fireworks in Custer before an early morning and the long trek home. Happy and content and feeling quite patriotic.
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The most beautiful thing in life is people. People: unique and fascinatingly individual in every way. I'm thankful for the people God has given me to know, to live life along side, and to love. I sat parked on the side of the road.
Hurd Road, north of Harbor Springs. Parked on the side of the road next to a U pick, honor system strawberry patch. I love this remote part of Emmet County. Farm Land intermingled with lake shore. The scenic Tunnel Of Trees not far away that leads to quaint Good Hart and Cross Village. I sat parked on the side of Hurd road, slightly early for my 11:45 Home visit with a sweet little baby, the youngest of four, and whose two older siblings had been on my caseload prior to her. I had just come from a visit to a brand spanking new newborn and her mother, with an older brother I had taken care of when I worked labor and delivery 6 years ago. Before that I had visited with a 27 week Pregnant woman and her almost two-year-old who's affection melted my heart on this warm June morning. I sat parked on the side of Hurd road, next to that strawberry patch, engine off, windows down. Tears in my eyes. Cheeks wet. I sat parked on the side of Hurd road thinking of the countless number of babies who's eyes never saw the light of day, who's lungs never breathed June air, and who's skin was never touched by the sun's warmth. And I wept. I had just heard the news that Roe v. Wade had been overturned. June 24th, 2022 A day I will never forget. Over the past five years, this job has given me an incredible insight into hundreds of women's stories. Most of these stories are heartbreaking, tragic, and at best often fraught with difficulties and obstacles to "success". On this day, June 24th, 2022 may we never lose sight of the humanity of the babies lives but also of the lives of their mothers. May we never lose compassion for the women who find themselves with unplanned pregnancies. I continued to visit families in the afternoon. Talking with them about their babies. I came home and sat at my outdoor table eating dinner, listening to my favorite podcast The Briefing as Albert Mohler highlighted the days stunning news. And I wept some more. Sitting here at my open window writing down these thoughts, with the sounds of a June evening ringing outside my window - crickets, redwings blackbirds, the lowing of cows across the street - a sweet friend pulled up unexpectedly and we sat and talked about the days events, wept together and most beautifully prayed together. Prayed together that we would not lose sight of the humanity of babies and their mothers. Prayed that the Church would rise up to meet these women, with compassion, in their need. May we never forget this day, June 24th, 2022. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go?
Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self… The human race crave the experience of awe & wonder. And there is no reality more breathtaking than Jesus Christ. -John Piper Perusing awe, we are far too easily pleased. But God has given us the Grand Canyon, the Monarch butterfly, Victoria Falls, the taste of honey, Machu Picchu, symphonies and falling in love- all the experiences that make up this beautiful, crazy amazing life. If we stop with standing in awe of the art, and forget that the Artist is right here for us to know and be in awe of, we miss out on so much of Life . Standing in awe of our God in His Majesty while experiencing His personal love is a lifelong pursuit that is more satisfying than any other experience in this life. As C.S. Lewis so memorably wrote: We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. In our pursuit of awe, we are far too easily pleased, indeed. Math, symmetry, order, beauty.
In a world of changing definitions I’m thankful for math. Math reminds me that in order for my one inch hexagon flowers to turn out looking like flowers, I need to use the same measuring tool each time. Math reminds me that even when I don’t feel like it, 2+2 always equals 4. Math reminds me that there is comfort and beauty in knowing that tomorrow I will wake up and it will be the same. I’m thankful for math because it gives me a window into the character of God: unchanging, dependable, beautiful. When my emotions come and go, when my perspectives get clouded, when my measuring stick changes, He is the same. Bats, butterflies, birds, cars.
May is the month for migration. The rhythm of migration is so subtle - When did the wood warblers start warbling? When did the bat start to call as I am falling asleep? When did all those Porsches and Teslas appear on my morning commute anyway? The cycle of the seasons is so beautiful and much like life. When we were little, my dad used to tell us we were in the spring of our lives, and he was quickly approaching the fall of his. There’s a poignancy to the subtleties of life. The change that brings a person from childhood to adolescences, young adulthood, young adulthood middle age, to elderly is almost indistinguishable. Migration is striking yet subtle, and somehow at the end of May summer is upon us. Change in life is striking, yet subtle, and somehow you wake up and find yourself at the end of your life. The last words my Grandmother said to me before she died were “Live for the Lord – and ENJOY it!!!” I want to remember this when life presses in, and it seems like there is no time to stop and notice the bats, birds and butterflies. Living for the Lord isn’t always an instagramable mountain top experience- it’s the small things, the daily habits, the consistent friendships. But it is glorifying to the Creator to stop, slow down, and enjoy Him through His creation. Migration truly is miraculous- even the Porsches and Teslas. I think that I shall never know a pet as funny as a bunny.
Don’t you know? I told you so. See you have no sense at all, Your brain is so very small. But oh! You are so fuzzy. An ode to the two adorable and senseless bunnies I have owned- Scramble and Copper Harbor. I was born the day my stillborn sister was delivered, five years later.
Stillbirth, infertility, fertility treatments, two difficult pregnancies, and two miscarriages to follow. Yesterday, my mother came over to speak at a ladies event- she spoke on joy. She spoke how it is possible, through Jesus, to have joy in pain, hardships, trials and darkness. She didn’t share her personal story, but I have been thinking how much weight her words bring when you know her story. I didn’t know her then, obviously, but she has said there were many days where it was difficult for her to trust the Lord, to love him and to find joy. Would she ever have children? Maybe you are in the middle of a story, that right now, is painful and dark. A time where you wonder if you will have children. Tonight, I went out for an evening ride - it was cloudy, gray and not very beautiful. But at the very end, the sun burst in warm yellow rays down through the leafless trees and lit up the forest floor into a vibrant green. Your story may end with children, it may not - my mother’s story did. But one thing is certain - as certain as the rising sun, or the eventual end to a cloudy day - God is faithful, and he writes each of our individual stories for our good and so that we become more like Jesus. |
Naomi JoyI was born a month early, and to the surprise of my parents, I was a girl! Archives
June 2023
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