When I get ready for big (or even not-so-big) life transitions, I always go through a period where I think about all the "lasts"--like, the last time I'll teach this Totus Tuus class, the last time I'll run this particular route, the last time I'll eat in the dining hall, etc. Today was the last time I'll participate in a Sunday afternoon family activity for quite awhile, and also the last night shift I'll work at DQ. For our activity, we went to a park and played frisbee and walked around. As family activities go, that one's fairly common, especially when the weather's this nice (except it almost felt a little chilly at times--very strange for August in St. Louis). So the activity wasn't anything special, but I savored it because I know I won't get to do it again for a long time. When things are finite, it adds an importance to each instance. I'd say it added to my enjoyment of being with my family today to know that I won't be next week at this time. It seems kind of paradoxical, then, to think about how this finite-ness is a result of the Fall. We were created for eternity. We weren't created for goodbyes (sometimes I think that's what makes them so hard) and we weren't really created for things to end. But now, we tend to take things for granted if we have them all the time, and sometimes only recognize their goodness when they're drawing to a close or even gone. So in Heaven, I'm pretty sure we'll fully appreciate each and every moment, even though we have an infinite amount of them. And I guess it's a good reminder not to take things for granted here either...and that reminds me of a Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay"
Nature's first green is gold,
her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
but only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
so Eden sank to grief.
So dawn goes down to day,
nothing gold can stay.
I had to memorize this in 8th grade, because it's featured in the book The Outsiders, which we were reading. And in the book, one of the characters then tells another to "stay gold"--to stay young and fresh and alive. I love that.
Maybe this is an example of God redeeming our broken human nature and working through our weakness...and as I think about my "lasts" over the next few days, hopefully it will remind me of His enduring love that's the same yesterday, today, and forever...and that's pretty golden:-)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
First Things
I'm feeling under a lot of pressure right now. This is the FIRST post of my brand new blog. And the first post has to be exciting, witty, eloquent, profound, and basically set a general standard of awesome-ness. I don't know where to start.
I could start by explaining why I created this blog--a fairly typical reason. I'm studying abroad this year, and so I'll suddenly have a lot of interesting things to write about, that some people may enjoy reading about.
I could set out some goals for my blog, or talk about the direction it will take. That would be hard though, because to be honest I'm not really sure. It could just be a sort of travel log. It could get a little more philosophic or reflective at times, because I tend to often be that way...most likely it will be a combination of both that I'll figure out as I go, and if you, dear reader, care to keep checking up on it you'll find out too.
I could explain where the title came from...it's borrowed out of context from a quote by St. Augustine (fitting, as yesterday was his feast day!) He was talking about God; I'm thinking kind of of a few different things. First, the city of Rome, where I'll be living all year--apparently there are a lot of good-looking buildings around there that were built quite a long time ago. We're going to be studying them. We wouldn't bother doing that if they didn't have some sort of relevance for us today. They weren't just beautiful, strong, and functional way back when they were built. They are enduring, and so their beauty is lasting and ever new in that sense, but also new because we're looking at them with fresh eyes and drawing lessons from them that can be applied to contemporary situations. And I'm also thinking of the Church in general. So rich in Tradition, which I imagine will be more evident in Rome than anywhere else in the whole world. A Church that has stayed strong for 2000 years. And yet, even though the Church doesn't change, the people in the Church do. She is constantly being renewed, generation after generation, and especially right now as the youth of the JPII generation are bringing in their energy and passion. I'm thinking of the New Evangelization--"not new in content, but new in methods, ardor, and expression". I can't wait to be in Rome, in the center of all this, in the Heart of the Church.
I guess I'll leave you with those thoughts for now. The second post should be a bit easier to write, as the "first post" pressure will be off. (I feel this pressure when I start a new journal too. It's so hard to know what to write on the first page...anything completely blank and completely fresh has so much potential. And from these infinite possibilities of the first words to write, or the first line to make in a drawing, picking one place to start is difficult. I usually avoid that in my journals by leaving the first page empty...psychologically, it's easier for me to start writing on the second page than the first). Here though, I decided to face my fears and actually compose a first post, rather than just giving it a title and leaving it blank:-)
Ciao!
I could start by explaining why I created this blog--a fairly typical reason. I'm studying abroad this year, and so I'll suddenly have a lot of interesting things to write about, that some people may enjoy reading about.
I could set out some goals for my blog, or talk about the direction it will take. That would be hard though, because to be honest I'm not really sure. It could just be a sort of travel log. It could get a little more philosophic or reflective at times, because I tend to often be that way...most likely it will be a combination of both that I'll figure out as I go, and if you, dear reader, care to keep checking up on it you'll find out too.
I could explain where the title came from...it's borrowed out of context from a quote by St. Augustine (fitting, as yesterday was his feast day!) He was talking about God; I'm thinking kind of of a few different things. First, the city of Rome, where I'll be living all year--apparently there are a lot of good-looking buildings around there that were built quite a long time ago. We're going to be studying them. We wouldn't bother doing that if they didn't have some sort of relevance for us today. They weren't just beautiful, strong, and functional way back when they were built. They are enduring, and so their beauty is lasting and ever new in that sense, but also new because we're looking at them with fresh eyes and drawing lessons from them that can be applied to contemporary situations. And I'm also thinking of the Church in general. So rich in Tradition, which I imagine will be more evident in Rome than anywhere else in the whole world. A Church that has stayed strong for 2000 years. And yet, even though the Church doesn't change, the people in the Church do. She is constantly being renewed, generation after generation, and especially right now as the youth of the JPII generation are bringing in their energy and passion. I'm thinking of the New Evangelization--"not new in content, but new in methods, ardor, and expression". I can't wait to be in Rome, in the center of all this, in the Heart of the Church.
I guess I'll leave you with those thoughts for now. The second post should be a bit easier to write, as the "first post" pressure will be off. (I feel this pressure when I start a new journal too. It's so hard to know what to write on the first page...anything completely blank and completely fresh has so much potential. And from these infinite possibilities of the first words to write, or the first line to make in a drawing, picking one place to start is difficult. I usually avoid that in my journals by leaving the first page empty...psychologically, it's easier for me to start writing on the second page than the first). Here though, I decided to face my fears and actually compose a first post, rather than just giving it a title and leaving it blank:-)
Ciao!
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